Sweetgum
by Whats My Dere
Summary: The World Conference is finally here, and Canada is hosting! Will they be able to get anything done? They'll at least have 3 weeks to try! Either way, Matthew's just excited to be able to spend some time alone with Alfred, or so he thinks… This story comes after "How to Cure a Cold" (AmeCan) many other side pairings.
1. How The Fun Was Doubled!

**~(WMD)~**

**(In Search of Maple) - (How to Cure a Cold) - (Sweetgum)**

**Just in case you wanted to start from the beginning.**

**This is my Third and FINAL Story to this Trilogy of Madness~**

**And it will be by far the most crazy since I have so much more to work with...**

**So expect warnings for a ton of ItaFUN, Double Teaming RagaMuffins, Magic!ArthurXD, BTT's, Random Acts of Bordom and so much more. Expect it to be long because I don't know what I'm doing most of the time...**

**On another note, I plan on toning down all of the accents, because there are just too many and it will just frustrate me. I'll still have a tiny accent for the Italy twins, and of course Germany, though his will be toned down greatly so it's more readable. France's will probably be about the same because his accent comes pretty easily for me. As for everyone else, don't expect alot accent-wise. I will still use the verbal ticks like "Da" and "Aru" since those are more character related.**

**~(TS)~ = Time Skip**

**-(SC)- = Scene Change**

**_'Thoughts'_ "Speech"**

**Warnings for - Stressed out Canadians, Unexpected Visitors, and Maple's Debut! **

x**X**x **xXx** x**X**x

**Sweetgum**

**How The Fun Was Doubled!**

...Il m'aime un peu... beaucoup... pas du tout...

A cool breeze blew through the honey blonde hair of a boy who appeared to be in his very early teens. He was sitting on an old fallen tree in the middle of a grassy meadow. The sun was shining brightly as the boy stared down at the white flower in his hands. Nearly all of the petals had been pulled off.

"...beaucoup..." Came a soft voice as a delicate white flower petal fell silently like the downy feather of a bird.

"Pas du tout..." The boy mumbled as he slowly pulled another petal off and let it flutter to the ground by his feet. "Il m'aime un peu..." A small frown appeared as he pulled another petal. "...beaucoup..." He said quietly and pulled the second to last one away then stared at the remaining white petal depressively as he unconsciously chewed on his bottom lip.

"Don't be sad, Mattie. Look, I've found another one for you."

The boy looked up in surprise and was greeted by the bright smile of someone who was nearly identical to himself. Bold blue eyes clashed with the autumn foliage that surrounded them and mirrored the endless azure sky above. The other boy grinned as he held out a pretty white flower to his twin. "What were you saying just now?" He asked curiously with a small tilt of his head.

** -(SC)-**

Matthew slowly opened his violet eyes and stared over at the left side of his bed sleepily, a light blush on his cheeks. He sighed softly to himself then looked at the clock on the nightstand. It read 7:30am. The Canadian tried to ignore the nagging feeling that he should get out of bed and instead brought his knees up and curled around the soft material he had been hugging to himself as he ducked his head under the covers.

Kumajiro lifted his head and peered over at the lump of covers from where he was at the end of the bed. The small polar bear yawned quietly then sat up. A moment later, as expected, a single thought popped into his head and he immediately verbalized it.

"I'm hungry." The bear informed. He waited a few seconds for any sign that he had been heard. Nothing. Kumajiro frowned, then padded over to the mound of covers and plopped down next to it. "I'm hungry." He tried again and stared down at the brown blanket, expectantly.

Silence.

A pout came over the small bear's face. He hated being ignored by his favorite person. Especially when he wanted his breakfast. And he wanted his breakfast _now_!

Kumajiro huffed in annoyance and reached out his paw then poked the lump of covers. A low muffled grumble was his only response as the teen rolled over onto his other side but remained buried. The polar bear growled softly in frustration at his lazy owner.

"I'm _hungry_!" Kumajiro whined as he pressed both paws to the lump and shook it, impatiently. He received no reaction at all. The Canadian was obviously using his _'Stay still, maybe they'll forget I'm here.' _tactic. Unlike _most_ people, that trick never worked on Kumajiro.

Matthew was trying his hardest to ignore Kumajiro, he wanted to go back to that dream he had been having, but his small polar bear companion was simply relentless when he wanted his breakfast. _'Be the bed, he'll forget I'm here if I just be the bed. Beee the bed…' _He chanted in his mind as he stayed perfectly still in hopes that his tactic would work on his bear for once.

A cold chill washed over his body as the covers were pulled away from him, harshly. Matthew shivered and curled tightly around the material he was hugging in a desperate attempt to keep some of the warmth he still had.

"Get _up_." Kumajiro ordered as he pushed his favorite person's back. A moment later, the small polar bear sat back and sighed. He wasn't getting any response. He sat there in silence for a minute until a thought popped into his furry head. "He'll be here in a few hours." Kumajiro reminded. To his delight, this time he actually got a reaction as Matthew mumbled something sleepily then uncurled from his position.

The Canadian finally sat up on the bed then stared down at Kumajiro, half awake. The small bear said nothing as his eyes traveled to the brown material in the teen's arms. Matthew followed his gaze then blushed brightly as he released his hold on the article of clothing. "I-it's not what you think!" The teen exclaimed as his brother's jacket fell to his lap. Kumajiro gave him a blank stare but stayed silent.

Hearing his owner's voice, a fluffy white Ragamuffin with perfect timing, hopped onto the bed and made his way over to them. Kumajiro frowned as Maple affectionately rubbed up to him then softly headbutted the furry bear. The grumpy polar bear huffed and tried to push the cat away from him.

Matthew laughed quietly at the usual interaction of the two animals. "Good morning, Maple." He greeted as he reached over and pet the fluffy Ragamuffin's head. Maple mewed happily then sat down next to Kumajiro and began purring. The bear glared as the cat leaned against him and invaded his personal space. Matthew gave him a sympathetic smile. "How about some breakfast, eh?"

**~(TS)~**

"This is the last of the bacon, we're also running low on some other things." Matthew informed as he casually pushed around some sizzling bacon in a pan. "If I don't find time to go grocery shopping today, we might have to eat out tonight."

The Canadian drew his gaze away from the pan and stared out of the kitchen window. "Alfie would probably be ok with that…" Matthew said softly with a smile as he observed the brilliant red leaves of the maple tree in his backyard.

Kumajiro didn't bother responding to anything the teen had just said as he waited impatiently on the kitchen counter. He probably wouldn't have been heard anyway, seeing as his owner was once again daydreaming. The little bear frowned as he watched his favorite person stare out of the window, lost in thought.

This had been happening more then usual lately and it was beginning to cause some problems. For instance, just three days ago, he had witnessed his owner walk straight into a closed door. Though, that really hadn't been the first time but usually accidents like that happened when he wasn't wearing his glasses.

On a different occasion, the Canadian was being lectured by his boss on how to be more assertive during the upcoming World Conference but somewhere in the middle, his attention drifted away. His boss had come to the conclusion that he was simply overworked and needed a break, so he had given him the rest of the day off. That had been really embarrassing for his owner and he had spent the rest of the day baking. Which was probably one of the reasons why they needed to go shopping in the first place.

A soft nudge to his leg brought Matthew's attention back from his daydreams and he looked down. Curious violet eyes stared up at him from the floor by his feet. He gave his cat a soft smile then bent down to pet him. "I bet you want some too, eh?" He asked, to which his only response was a quiet mew as Maple put a paw to his owner's leg so he could lean into the physical affection.

Matthew chuckled lightly. "You're going to get as heavy as Hero if you keep eating human food like this." He teased as he ruffled Maple's light brown mane. The Ragamuffin's ears perked at the familiar name and he purred softly as he rubbed himself against Matthew's leg. "I'm sure Alfie will bring him, it would be pretty strange if he didn't."

A mysterious burnt aroma wafted into the air while the Canadian personification was distracted. "Ah, oh no!" Matthew gasped and stood back up quickly to try and save the bacon. He groaned to himself pathetically, he had lost track of what he was doing again...

**~(TS)~**

Kumajiro glowered down at the nearly blackened bacon on his plate then looked back up at his owner with a slight growl. "It's really not _that_ bad." Matthew replied as he tried to defend his carelessness with a forced smile. The small bear was not convinced as he continued to give his favorite person a look of dissatisfaction.

Matthew sighed dejectedly and looked away with a pout. "At least the pancakes turned out ok." He reminded. And they did, so breakfast wasn't a complete loss but Kumajiro was becoming unimpressed with the teen's lack of concentration. And what's worse? Now it was affecting his mealtime and that was unacceptable! Maple, on the other hand, seemed completely satisfied with the burnt bacon. The small polar bear ended up eating his bacon as well, however it was purely out of spite for the fluffy Ragamuffin who seemed a _little_ _too_ interested in his plate.

**~(TS)~**

After breakfast, Kumajiro watched bordly as his favorite person rushed past the small dining table, carrying a stack of papers and disappeared into another room. A loose paper fluttered to the hardwood floor, unnoticed in the Canadian's haste.

The small polar bear sighed and pushed his empty breakfast plate away then hopped down from the chair. He carefully picked up the piece of paper, which had a pie chart of Ontario's income on it, and followed after the teen.

Upon reaching the open door to the study, Kumajiro barely had time to move out of the way as the Canadian quickly emerged from the room carrying even more paperwork in his arms. The small bear glared as he watched him turn a corner and make his way up the stairs.

His favorite person always got this way when he knew he was going to have visitors, but for some reason he was even more flustered then usual. It may have been because he had to host the World Conference the very next day or, …perhaps it was something else entirely. Either way, Kumajiro was getting tired of watching his owner rush around, frantically trying to clean an already clean house.

The small bear found an unopened letter at the bottom of the stairs. He frowned when he picked it up. It was yet another "Au revoir" message from Quebec. There was a special folder for those… Kumajiro sighed again and made his way up the stairs after his owner.

**-(SC)-**

"Would you roll up the window! It's too windy in here." A brunette man grouched, keeping his green eyes on the road as he weaved dangerously past the cars ahead of him.

"Ah, but it is such a niceh day!" His twin brother replied blissfully as he watched the scenery speed by. He seemed completely unaffected by how fast they were going.

"Areh you sure you got the directions right?" The one driving asked as he failed to read yet another street sign as it whipped by.

"Yea~ big brother France told me right where it is!" His twin replied making the other groan in annoyance.

"_That's_ who you got the directions from?!" The driver exclaimed as he facepalmed, now not even watching the road. "No wonder we'reh lost! Why didn't you ask the Burger Bastard instead? It _is_ his brother after all, he would know how to get there!"

The passenger frowned and leaned back into his seat. "I _tried_ to call him first, but all of my calls wereh redirected to a pizzeria in New York. When I tried to make an order, the man said they don't deliver across the border and he hung up on me…"

The driver took his hand away and rolled his green eyes at that last comment, as he grumbled something under his breath. He then reached into a brown bag that sat between them and pulled out a nice ripe tomato.

The passenger was quiet as he took another look at a small map that had been drawn for him. His hazel eyes widened in realization, he then flipped the map over. "I think we should turn up here." He said as he pointed to an upcoming turnoff.

"Areh you sure this time?" The driver asked skeptically as he chewed on his tomato.

"Positive!" His twin confirmed as he beamed.

"You better be right…" The driver grouched as he turned the steering wheel forcefully, making a hard right. The car behind them beeped and swerved in alarm.

They drove through a pleasant looking neighborhood, trying to locate the correct house, though reading the house numbers proved difficult since they were still speeding.

"Now he said we should be looking for a two story house with an old wooden fence and a large maple tree in the front yard." The passenger informed as he stared down at the map with the directions on it.

"Is that it?" His brother asked.

The passenger lifted his head and looked as well. "Where?" He asked, not seeing the same thing.

"There." The driver said as he pointed to a large two story house that they were quickly approaching to their left. The other frowned and stared at the house for a moment.

"_Is it_?" The driver asked impatiently.

A smile formed on his twin's face. "Yea, that's it!" He agreed right as they were about to zoom past it.

Now a normal person would probably have driven by, found a safe place to turn around and come back to their destination at a more reasonable speed. However…

**-(SC)-**

Maple mewed in greeting when Matthew entered the second makeshift study he had made out of the second bedroom. There was more paperwork right now then he knew how to deal with. He had taken a lot of his work home with him because he was behind in some of his official matters and to top it off, he had just barely finished the preparations for the next World Conference on time.

Matthew was worn out with all of the stress in trying to get things set up before everyone got there, not to mention he hadn't been sleeping very well lately. He felt completely exhausted and the meetings hadn't even begun yet. Though, at least he was over his cold now. That was something.

"Hello, Maple. I see you've found a nice warm place in the sun." The Canadian smiled as he spotted his fluffy cat, comfortably sitting on the windowsill over by the bed. Maple purred in response then turned and continued gazing out the window. Matthew chuckled lightly then set the stack of papers down on one of the nightstands.

Kumajiro padded into the room and sat down. "Here." He said after taking the papers from his mouth and holding them out to his favorite person.

"Did I drop those?" Matthew asked, lifting his eyebrows slightly. He then gave his bear an appreciative smile and accepted the papers. "Thank you, Mr. Kumakichi." He sighed depressively when he looked at them, then set them on top of the pile of paperwork.

"Well, I think I'm done now." Matthew said after straightening the pile of papers. He let out a tired yawn as he lifted his arm and slid his loose sleeve back to check his wristwatch. A small smile graced his lips as he stared down at the time. "Alfie should be here pretty soon."

Maple let out a low mew then leapt from the windowsill and retreated from the room in a panic.

Matthew frowned and gave Kumajiro a doubtful look. "What was that ab-" His sentence was interrupted by a loud crash just outside. They both jumped, clearly startled. The Canadian quickly scooped his polar bear companion into his arms and walked over to the window to peer outside and see what had happened.

A dark blue car that looked as if it had been through a war zone was now "parked" in his front yard. His fence was in shambles and his mailbox was nowhere to be seen.

"Maple…" Matthew whined softly as he bit down on his bottom lip.

**-(SC)-**

"That was great~" The person in the passenger seat said after he pulled the map away from his face and looked around grinning.

"This is all your fault!" The driver snapped as he struggled to get his door open. Once he did, he pushed away the deflated airbag and got out of the car to look at the damage. "Great. I blew my tires again. Why didn't you tell me in timeh?!" He raged as he watched his brother get out of the car as well, a smile still on his face.

"It's not that bad, Lovino, at least you didn't total it like last timeh."

"I-Italy? …Romano?" A quiet voice asked from a little ways away. Both Italians turned to see a confused and slightly unimpressed Canadian staring at them from his doorway.

Feliciano's face brighten and he waved energetically. "Ciao Alfred! You cameh too?"

Lovino looked over to the Canadian and scowled. "What are _you_ doing here, you Burger Bastard?!"

They both watched as the teen's face flushed slightly and he frowned.

"I'm Canada!" He whisper-shouted in annoyance. "This _is_ my house after all!"

The Italians tilted their heads, confused.

Another smile came over Feliciano's face and he nodded in understanding. "Oh, ciao Matteo."

Lovino frowned when he spotted an elderly woman peeking through her window at them. "Let's just go inside, we'reh causing a scene." He said as he walked around his car and up Canada's sidewalk to his house. His brother followed after waving politely at the woman.

**~(TS)~**

"So… what brings you here, eh?" Matthew asked, after setting down a cup of coffee on the wooden dining table in front of both of his new guests.

"Grazie." They said in unison as they accepted the kind offering.

"We cameh to stay with you for awhile, isn't that great~?" Felciano answered as he picked up his coffee and blew on it to cool it off.

"What… do you mean?" Matthew asked, a feeling a discontent slowly rising inside of him.

"The Potato Bastard kicked my idiot brother out so he could focus on the new schedule without being disturbed." Lovino said with a frown. He then shrugged. "I couldn't just leave Feli by himself whileh he tried to find a new place to stay."

Feliciano turned and beamed at his brother. "Sei il migliore, Lovi!"

A blush crept onto Lovino's face and he crossed his arms sulkily. "Shut up! This really is all _your_ fault. You're the idiot who changed the schedule and messed everything up."

Feliciano tilted his head and smiled. "Veee~ But we had a lot of fun, right? So it was worth it!"

Matthew silently watched the two Italian brothers argue back and forth. They were really close. It reminded him of the bond that he shared with his own brother, though the Italian twins indeed had a much different relationship.

"Why did you pick my place to stay?" Matthew finally asked once his mind got back on track. "Couldn't you have stayed with Japan or perhaps Spain?"

Feliciano turned back to their Canadian host. "Kiku hasn't arrived yet and-"

"And there's no way we'reh staying with Antonio, not when he keeps inviting the Wine Bastard and stupid Gil over!" Lovino finished grumpily.

"O-oh…" Matthew frowned "But still, …why _my_ place?"

"Big brother France said this would be the _perfect_ placeh to stay~" Feliciano smiled happily. "He even gave us directions!" He said as he held out a folded hand drawn map with the directions to the Canadian's house written on it in fancy handwriting.

Matthew took the map and glowered down at it. _'Damn it, Papa…' _He growled inside his head as a mental image of Francis _'honhonhoning'_ at his expense came to mind. "H-how long are you planning on staying?" The teen asked, already dreading the answer.

"Probably a few weeks, depending on how fast they can get the schedule fixed." Lovino answered as he unfolded his arms and took his coffee into his hands. Matthew mentally cried at this new information. This was going to be even more stressful then he had imagined.

"Hey Matteo, do you haveh any snacks?" Feliciano asked cheerfully after setting his coffee cup back onto the wooden table.

"Don't be so rudeh." Lovino scolded as he to set his cup down.

"I don't have much right now, but I do have some cheese, I think there's some crackers around here also…" Matthew replied as he turned and opened the refrigerator door.

"_Cheese?_ That's all you ha-" Lovino's complaint was cut off when a hand was pressed to his mouth to quiet him. The southern Italian gave his brother an annoyed glare but relented only because of the look he was receiving. He really hated that look, it both irritated him _and_ made him feel a tiny bit guilty for some strange reason, which in turn, irritated him!

A few minutes later, Feliciano and Lovino were presented with a simple plate of cheese and crackers.

"Grazie, Matteo!" Feliciano said appreciatively.

"I'm sorry, that's pretty much all I have right now. I really need to go grocery shopping." Matthew apologized.

"This is just fineh. Don't worry." Feliciano reassured. Lovino was ignoring them while grumbling about something privately. He then reached over and picked up a piece of cheese. Before he had a chance to bring the slice of cheese to his mouth however, it was swiped from his grasped.

"Hey!" Lovino cried out in surprise.

Matthew, who had been searching through his kitchen cabinets, turned around to see what had happened. He flushed in embarrassment when he spotted his fluffy Ragamuffin sitting boldly on the dinning table enjoying a slice of cheese. "M-Maple!" The Canadian exclaimed as he made his way over to the table. "What's gotten into you, eh?" He asked in bewilderment as he leaned over the table to collect his cat. This was so out of character for Maple!

"Uh.. Why are you so…-" Matthew paused as realization hit him.

He carefully turned the cat around and held him face level so he could conclude his suspicions. Bright blue eyes stared back at him. "…Hero?" Hero mewed happily in greeting, though it was slightly muffled since he still had a slice of cheese in his mouth.

"Ciao, Alfred!" Feliciano greeted energetically as he practically bounced out of his chair and rushed over. Matthew froze as he felt his stomach involuntarily flutter. He lowered Hero and let his gaze travel to the front door.

Alfred, who had just set his dark blue travel bag down on the floor by the coat rack, looked up in surprise when he was greeted in a very unexpected way. When he did however, his azure eyes instantly locked with his brother's before anything else, causing that familiar warmth to rise in his chest.

Matthew felt himself flush when Alfred gave him a bright smile. Memories from the strikingly similar image of the little boy holding a white flower in his dream that morning floated back to him and the Canadian's expression softened.

_'I've always loved that smile…' _

* * *

x**X**x** xXx **x**X**x

**The French~**

**Il m'aime un peu = He loves me a little**

**Beaucoup = A lot**

**Pas du tout = Not at all **

**It's that old French love guessing game of flower petal picking. Yes it's French, look it up~**

**I took two of the options out since I felt that "Passionately" and "Madly" weren't really something a child that young would be thinking about. **

**Can anyone else picture France teaching little Canada this game? It would have been adorable! That is, if he kept it G rated.**

**The Italian~**

**Ciao = Hello**

**Grazie = Thanks**

**Sei il migliore! = You're the best!**

**Can anyone else sense the ItaAmare? lol :3**

**xXx**

**WMD's interesting notes for in case you didn't get it.**

**Mattie's "Stay still, maybe they'll forget I'm here." tactic, is totally his "Piano Tactic" but I couldn't call it that! ...because it wouldn't make sense to the story. /pouts**

**Quebec's "Au revoir letter" - au revoir means "Goodbye" in French. (The Province of Quebec has been threatening to separate from Canada for a really long time.) **

**I don't actually know if the stereotype that Italian's drive crazy is true or not, but they had that one episode. So it's totally cannon! **

**I know the title says "How The Fun Was Doubled!" which is obviously an MLP reference, but I was thinking, shouldn't I have said "Tripled"?**

**xXx**

**I'll try to update as soon as I can, but with school, things are going to be going rather slowly. Bare with me, K? :)**

**Don't forgetta to leave me a review~ **

**I write faster when I'm inspired.**

**(**Thank you Amy Kitty Katz, I've fixed it to the best of my ability.**)**


	2. The Ebb and Flow of Worries

**~(WMD)~**

**So sorry this took so long to update. I spent a few days correcting the formatting of my other stories. You were totally right Amy! That was an odd way of writing. lol I just wish someone would have told me 100k words ago T.T**

**I'm still new to writing fanfics, so there are bound to be mistakes~**

**Anyways! This chapter is more of a setup chapter so I'm sorry if it's a little boring. This also turned out to be _really_ long. I'm still wondering if I should make this story episode-like or just flow through it - which would take forever. What do you think?**

**'Thoughts' "Speech"**

**~(TS)~ = Time Skip**

**-(SC)- = Scene Change**

**Warnings for - Unorthodoxed Greetings, Cheeze Teasers, and Silky Intruders**

x**X**x** xXx **x**X**x

**The Ebb and Flow of Worries**

"Alfred, get your cat off the dashboard. That's highly dangerous." Arthur instructed as he slowed the car and made a right turn.

"Sorry, Artie." Alfred laughed as he reached over and lifted his fluffy cat and set him back on his lap. "I think Hero's just excited. He probably already knows where we're going."

"Why didn't you just put him in a cat carrier? He'd be less of a nuisance that way." Arthur replied as he gave the squirming cat a side glance and frowned. The furry creature had spent most of the ride standing in Alfred's lap with his paws on the dashboard or window for a better view. It was really quite ridiculous.

"Dude, you try and put Hero in a cat carrier and see what happens. I'm not risking it again." Alfred shrugged. "Besides, he's not really used to riding in cars. This is probably entertaining for him."

Arthur didn't bother responding to that as he focused on his driving. He wasn't very happy about the idea of dropping Alfred off at his brother's house and then leaving them alone without proper supervision. This whole situation made him nervous. It seems last month's clever trick of sending Matthew back home had only been a temporary solution.

He let out a weak sigh and glanced over at his ex-colony. The teen was looking out the window, clearly daydreaming again. Ever since Matthew had gone home a month ago, Alfred has been completely unfocused. Arthur thought it may have been due to him still having a touch of his cold, but he seemed perfectly healthy now and he was _still_ acting like he was only half here._ 'I wonder…'_

"I say, Alfred. What has been on your mind lately?" Arthur asked with sincere interest. The Englishman lifted a large eyebrow when the teen flinched by the sudden sharp tone he had accidentally spoken in, then looked over and gave him a sheepish smile with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Huh?" Alfred replied on impulse as he searched for the right words. "Oh, I've been thinking about the upcoming World Conference, of course." The teen finally said, ending his statement with an unusual laugh.

Arthur frowned in response. _'Well, that was a lie.' _And it obviously was. After years of knowing the American personification it was actually quite easy for Arthur to catch on quickly when the teen was lying about something. That is, unless he was prepared to lie beforehand, then he could be quite believable indeed. But this, this was a lie and it only made Arthur even more suspicious of what had been preoccupying his ex-colony's mind for the past month.

The Englishman's attention was brought back from his thoughts as they neared Matthew's house. "What the bloody hell happened here?"

Alfred snapped out of his own thoughts and looked as well. He frowned when he noticed a dark blue car parked under the large maple tree in his brother's front yard. The old fence that usually framed the yard was now in pieces and the grass was torn up by tire marks. "I don't know…" Alfred finally replied. "But it doesn't look good."

When Arthur finally parked the car in Matthew's driveway, Alfred opened his door and got out. He was quickly followed by Hero, who dashed past him and disappeared around the house. That might have worried Alfred if he didn't know exactly where his cat was heading. Which was, no doubt the kitty door in the back. This was probably the most exercise Hero had gotten all day.

Arthur got out as well and eyed the beat up car under the tree a little ways away from them. "Doesn't that car look familiar?" He asked as he decided to walk over and investigate.

Alfred didn't reply as he reached into the backseat and pulled out his dark blue travel bag. He wasn't really that worried about the car. What he _was_ worried about however, was his brother's mood. _'Mattie's probably pissed right now…'_ Alfred sighed depressively. _'That sucks.' _He was really looking forward to spending some time with Matthew. But it would be no fun if his brother was upset.

Alfred opened the front door and walked in quietly. It was different from his usual excited arrival. He didn't want to make the Canadian's mood any worse. After carefully setting his travel bag down by the coat rack, he was greeted by a happy familiar voice, though it wasn't his brother's. Alfred looked up curiously to see who it was, but before anything else, he caught sight of Matthew. The Canadian locked his violet eyes with him as well.

Relief washed over Alfred at the sight. _'Mattie's not mad right now…' _He couldn't resist giving his twin a bright smile as his worries subsided almost instantly. _'That's awesome!' _He mentally cheered.

**-(SC)-**

"Doesn't this car belong to Romano?" Arthur pondered aloud and he peeked through the window. Tomatoes were scattered throughout the front seat and a few were even located on the dashboard. He gave the scene a deadpanned looked. "That answers that…" Arthur said as he took a step back to evaluate the damage. In truth, he was just wasting time so he didn't have to go inside immediately.

After checking, he found that the car had many scratches and dents but most of them appeared to not actually be from this particular accident. Three of the tires were also flat. Scratch that, _all_ of the tires were flat, the Englishman concluded after squatting down to check the last one. Something red caught his eye from underneath the car.

"Is that... a mailbox?"

Arthur's attention was instantly pulled away from the vehicle when he heard a loud yelp, followed by a startled cry from Alfred a second later. He turned his head just in time to witness the American and a familiar smaller man, crash painfully to the sidewalk just outside the front door.

"Alfie!" Whisper-shouted a familiar voice from just inside the house.

"Feli, you idiot!" Followed directly after by another familiar voice.

"Are you two, alright?" Arthur asked as he quickly made his way over to the two countries sprawled out on the sidewalk. "That looked like a nasty fall."

"I'm just peachy…" Alfred breathed out sarcastically from underneath Feliciano, a painful expression was just barely evident as he gave Arthur a weak smile.

"Ai-ahhh…" Feliciano whined as he pushed himself up. He then sat back on the sidewalk to look at his knee.

"Ah! Look what you did, stupid America!" Lovino raged as he rushed over to his brother, who was now holding his knee and rocking back and forth muttering something under his breath.

"What did _I_ do?" Alfred retorted as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. He then put a hand to the back of his head and closed his eyes, feeling a tiny bit dizzy.

Matthew, who had come outside as well, made his way over to his own brother and knelt down next to him. "Are you ok, Alfie?" He asked quietly in concern as he took his brother's hand away to check his head. Arthur had also knelt down next to the American to check him for other injuries.

"We should get that bandaged." The Englishman said as he eyed Alfred's scraped elbow.

"What?" Alfred asked as he lifted his arm to see for himself. "No, it's fine." He dismissed on impulse as he pulled his arm out of reach.

"You're getting it bandaged, Al." Matthew said with finality as he stood up. He then held out a hand to his brother. Alfred sighed but accepted Matthew's help and got back onto his feet. He didn't really want to argue right now. It just wasn't worth it.

**-(SC)-**

Hero, who had hopped back onto the dining table after everyone had left, was now enjoying the rest of the cheese on the plate. His ears perked when he heard a quiet mew from down below. The fluffy Ragamuffin abandoned the cheese momentarily to walk over to the corner of the table and peer down. Bright violet eyes stared up at him, as Maple stood up and put his front paws on the table leg. He wasn't allowed on the dining table.

Hero mewed back happily at Maple, then disappeared from sight. Maple's ears perked curiously as he resisted the urge to jump up onto the table himself. A moment later, his friend reappeared with a slice of cheese in his mouth.

Maple eyed the cheese eagerly and purred in anticipation. Hero swished his tail a few times as he watched the other cat try to stretch out to him as far as he could while keeping his back paws on the floor. It was quite entertaining. After about 30 seconds, Hero finally crouched down then released the slice of cheese from his mouth. It landed directly onto Maple's face, startling the fluffy Ragamuffin.

Kumajiro, who had been watching the two cats with an alarming lack of interest, switched his attention back over to the front door. His favorite person had his moments of clumsiness for sure, but the amount of clumsiness he had just witnessed from their guest was on a different level entirely. He actually felt a sliver of sympathy for his owner's doppelganger. Only a sliver though. Kumajiro still remembered the cookie incident a month ago. Bad memory aside, he always remembered snack tragedies.

**~(TS)~**

"That was totally epic, Feli! I've never been greeted at the door quite like that before." Alfred laughed loudly, as he sat in one the chairs at the dining table. He had collected Kumajiro from the floor when they had entered the house and now the small bear was sitting on his lap staring grumpily at his owner, who was busy doing something in the kitchen.

Arthur was trying his hardest to ignore the teen's obnoxious laughter as he stood beside him, wrapping a bandage around his injured elbow, now that the wound was clean. Alfred hadn't put up that much of a fight this time, which was pleasing but still a bit odd at the same time.

"Veee~ I'm sorry about that, Alfred. I just wanted to give you a hug, but that area rug cameh out of _nowhere_!" Feliciano replied with a laugh of his own. "I didn't see it at all~"

"I don't have an area rug…" Matthew informed as he walked out of the kitchen with an icepack.

"You don't?" Feliciano asked as he looked over to the front door. It was bare hardwood. He frowned.

"You probably just tripped over your own feet again." Lovino said as he tried to apply a band-aid to his brother's knee. "Would you stop moving!" He snapped. Feliciano turned his frown to his twin but stopped moving as directed. He could have sworn he really did trip over _something_.

Kumajiro sulked as he looked over at all of the unexpected guests. The small bear wasn't really impressed with the crowed of people that had happened upon them in such a short amount of time. Especially since he had only been expecting one person, and that _one person_ was definitely enough.

Matthew walked past the two Italians and came over to his own brother. "Are you sure you're alright, Al?" He asked as he gently put the icepack to the back of his twin's head.

"Yea, I'm fine. It wasn't really that bad." Alfred reassured as he raised his hand to hold the pack in place himself. "I just wasn't expecting to get tackled at the door when I arrived. That's all." He finished with a more subdued laugh.

"And here I thought you were always on your guard." Arthur teased as he made the final wrap on Alfred's bandage. He really wanted to tell the teen, that perhaps he should have been paying more attention but he decided not add insult to injury this time.

"I didn't think I _needed_ to be on my guard, _here." _Alfred retorted with a pout. Matthew gave his brother a small smile as he mentally laughed at the American's defensive response. Though it did leave him feeling a bit pleased that Alfred would actually admit to not being on his guard while at his house.

The Canadian silently turned his gaze over to Arthur and frowned. An obvious question had been floating around them for awhile now. He just wasn't quite sure how to word it so that it didn't come off as sounding rude.

"By the way." Matthew began as he picked his next words carefully, so as to not offend the Englishman. "What brings you here, Arthur? You almost never come to visit."

Arthur frowned at that accusation. He visits, …it just hasn't been for awhile. "Alfred gave me a ring and told me he needed a ride…" He finally said after pushing his previous thoughts aside. "The wanker had his bike stolen." He added with a hint of amusement, though he was still a little irked.

The Canadian's eyebrows rose slightly. "Seriously? Someone stole your bike?"

"Yea, just yesterday." Alfred informed depressively. "They took her right out of the driveway."

Matthew chewed on his lower lip as he contemplated his next question. "Did… you leave your keys in the storage compartment again…?" Alfred instantly shot him a hard look. That was all the answer Matthew needed. "Al, I warned you it would get stolen if you kept doing that." The Canadian sighed, though he did actually feel sorry for Alfred. He knew how much work his twin had spent on that motorcycle. The American had even rebuilt it from scrap about three times.

"Yea, I know." Alfred grumbled. "Guess I'll have to get a new one, it won't be the same though…" The American looked really down about this, making his brother feel even more sympathetic.

"Maybe it'll turn up, you never know." Matthew replied, trying to sound optimistic, in hopes that it might lighten the mood.

"Whoever took it has probably already scrapped it and sold the parts for profit." Arthur said, completely reversing the effect of the Canadian's encouraging words.

"Don't say that!" Alfred exclaimed as he turned and gaped at the Englishman, whereas his brother quickly shot a disapproving glare.

"You should really get a proper mode of transportation, like a car. I was always afraid you were going to break your neck on that stupid thing. You're far too reckless!" Arthur finished while crossing his arms, standing his ground on the issue. He really _had_ been worried. On more then one occasion he had found himself holding his breath as the teen attempted one of his _tricks_. Nonetheless guilt slowly started to build inside Arthur as Alfred stared back at him with his signature _kicked puppy _look.

"Don't worry Alfred~" Feliciano said with a smile as he walked over to the American. He then leaned over slightly so that he was face level with him. "Someone probably just barrowed it. They'll bring it back to you." He reassured with confidence as he pat the other on the shoulder.

"Likeh hell they will…" Lovino muttered quietly from a little ways away as he glared at the proximity between the two. He didn't like it. But he had to admit it wasn't as bad as watching his brother cosying up to the damn German all the time. The southern Italian didn't know, but he wasn't the only one annoyed by this.

"I'd really like to believe that, Feli." Alfred replied with a forced smile. He didn't put too much faith in that theory however. There's no way someone would just bring back his bike. He knew that.

"If I might ask," Arthur began as he uncrossed his arms. "what are both of you doing here of all places? Shouldn't you be getting ready for tomorrow?" He asked while sitting down in the chair next to Alfred's.

Feliciano looked over at Arthur then leaned back and smiled. The Italian then began a full in depth explanation as of why he and his brother had come to the Canadian's house, complete with his signature expressive hand motions and irrelevant side notes.

10 minutes later...

"No way, you guys are really going to be staying with Mattie?" Alfred asked once Feliciano finished his story. He hadn't been expecting this and it certainly changed his plans.

Arthur inwardly smirked. To him, this was indeed a fortunate turn of events._ 'Looks like I don't have to be quite as concerned now. They aren't what I would call proper supervision but those two will definitely provide sufficient distraction. At least for awhile.' _

"Si! We've never stayed at Matteo's before." Feliciano stated. "Since we'll be here for awhile, I bet we can experience the life of a Canadian first hand!"

"I never agreed to that!" Lovino snapped.

"Aw. Come on Lovi." Feliciano said as he walked back over to his brother. "It'll be fun~" The northern Italian claimed as he waved his arms to express just how fun it would be.

Lovino rolled his eyes and stepped back from his twin. He then walked around Feliciano and made his way towards the door.

Feliciano frowned. "Where are you going, Lovino?"

"I'ma going to get our stuff!" Lovino shot back in annoyance as he flung open the frontdoor and walked out. After a short pause, Feliciano's frown turned upsidedown and he followed after his brother.

"I'll help you~" The northern Italian called as he too exited the house.

The other countries, who had been watching the scene in silence were caught off guard when a familiar ringtone started playing a moment after the two left.

Alfred and Matthew both directed their attention to Arthur.

Without saying a word, the Englishman casually took out his phone. After checking the caller ID, he let out a small sigh and put the phone to his ear. "Dreadfully sorry, chaps. Excuse me for a moment." He apologized as he stood up from the chair then walked off into the living room.

Arthur ignored the feeling of being watched as he answered his call. "This is Kirkland." After a few seconds, he nodded in satisfaction. "I see. I'll be right over." With that said he ended his called and tucked his phone away.

"You're leaving already, Artie?!" Alfred exclaimed, disappointment written across his face. Arthur turned and looked over to the American. That response was so familiar. It reminded him of all the times Alfred had put up a big fuss whenever he had told him that he was going back to his homeland so many years ago. Arthur sighed and dismissed the nostalgic feeling.

"Yes, I am. I need to pay the movers for their service." Arthur informed as he headed back over to the twins. "By the way, Alfred. Eavesdropping is very rude. I thought I taught you better than that." He scolded as he set a hand on the American's shoulder.

"Eh, it was kind of hard _not_ to, I mean you _were_ right over there." He pointed a thumb to the living room and shrugged. That only earned him a glare from the Brit.

"What did you mean by 'the movers'?" Matthew asked quietly.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you." Arthur started as he turned to look at the Canadian standing a few feet away from them. "I'll be staying at our old house. I'm sure you know the one."

Matthew's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. "Y-you're really going to be staying _there_?"

"Well, I'm not moving there permanently of course. Just for the duration of this extended meeting." Arthur elaborated.

"But it's such a big house…" Matthew reminded. He was a little worried of Arthur staying there all alone. It was an old house after all. What if he fell through the floor? Or got lost in the middle of the night trying to find the bathroom? He might even disappear entirely! Matthew unconsciously began chewing on his bottom lip in worry.

"Oh come now. Don't give me that look." Arthur said as if he could read the Canadian's mind. "I'm not hapless like your brother. Besides it will be much better then being stuck in a hotel room for a month. And less expensive too, if I might add."

A frown slowly formed on Alfred's face as he listened in on their conversation. "You have a house here, Artie?" He finally asked. He honestly didn't know what house they were talking about. It seemed important for some reason but he didn't know why, and his brother was acting as if it were common knowledge. Though, they _were_ in Canada, so it wasn't like it was unreasonable for him to be unaware of something like Canadian real estate. Even so, Alfred couldn't shake the odd nagging feeling that he should somehow know about this.

The other two turned their attention to him. Matthew only frowned whereas Arthur gave the American a look of incredulity.

"Well of course I do." Arthur replied. "I hadn't really thought about it for awhile, mind you, but considering the length of this meeting, I decided to dig around for the papers to the old house." The Englishman was met with a clueless look from the American.

"It's an old house?" Alfred asked. He then gave Arthur a worried look as a thought occurred to him. "What if that place is haunted? You probably shouldn't go there by yourself, Artie." He warned seriously. "It might be dangerous."

Arthur tsked. "It's not haunted, you wanker. Besides, you _do_ know what house I'm talking about, don't you?"

"Should I?" Alfred asked doubtfully.

"I should say so, you and Matthew spent years in that house." Arthur stated. He was beginning to feel annoyed by the confused look on his ex-colony's face.

"When was that?" Alfred questioned as he tried to think back to when that might have been.

Arthur shot an exasperated look over to Matthew, but the depressive look on the other's face gave him pause. The Englishman slowly looked back to Alfred with a serious expression. "You really don't remember?" Matthew inwardly cringed at the change of atmosphere.

"Uh, …I think I'll go help the Italy's with their stuff..." Alfred replied, effectively dropping the subject as he stood up from his chair. He took the icepack and placed it on the table. After that, he carefully set Kumajiro down in his place. The small bear looked up to the American with a tiny bit of worry.

Alfred then turned back to Arthur with his usual happy expression in place, as if he had taken whatever was bothering him and had pushed it to the back of his mind. "Drive carefully, Artie. If you don't show up to the meeting tomorrow, I'll totally come and rescue you from that scary house. You can count on me!" He declared, giving the Brit his signature 'Hero' smile. Though it seemed a bit forced this time.

Arthur didn't quite know how to respond to the sudden change in Alfred's mood. He quirked an eyebrow as the American waved from the doorway then disappeared to go and assist the Italian's.

"What was that about?" Arthur finally asked as he turned to Matthew for the answers. He became even more confused when the Canadian's depressive look was cleared and he gave him a pleasant smile and shrugged.

"Maybe he just forgot, eh?" Matthew suggested. He didn't really want to alert Arthur of how much that actually bothered him as well. Besides, Alfred had told him a few years ago to stop bringing up the past. Because of that, Matthew didn't want him to be barraged with a bunch questions on the subject. That would only make the American upset, and it would be no fun for anyone if his brother was unhappy the whole time.

"Well, anyways..." Arthur began, deciding to drop the subject for now. "I think I'll be off now. If you need anything just give me a ring."

"I will." Matthew nodded then gave the Brit a small smile. "Thank you for bringing Al here, Arthur. I know you didn't have to, so I really appreciate it."

"It was no trouble at all. I was actually surprised he didn't call you first." Arthur shrugged. "But then I remembered you were hosting. He probably didn't want you to go out of your way."

"By the way, Matthew." Arthur added as he turned to give the Canadian a final look before he left. "You look exhausted, you should try to get to bed early tonight. We wouldn't want the host country sleeping through the very first meeting, now would we?"

Matthew shook his head and smiled. "I'll try to get some sleep." He said as the Englishman headed for the door. "Please drive carefully, Arthur." Without looking back Arthur raised his hand and waved casually back to the teen before leaving the house.

Matthew let his smile turn slightly passive aggressive. "Seriously? How did he forget that _I_ was the one hosting…?" He asked aloud, as his eye twitched in frustration.

"I'm hungry!" Kumajiro informed as he looked over to his favorite person, now that he had him all to himself again. Matthew groaned and hung his head.

**~(TS)~**

_'I wonder what that was all about…'_

Arthur brooded after he had paid the movers and entered his old house. _'I know I always tease him about his forgetfulness, but his memory can't be that bad, can it? Besides, I wasn't even serious most of the time.' _His worries were interrupted by a quiet meow. Arthur looked over to the luggage that had been transported into the large living room for him. There, sitting atop of heavy looking trunk, sat his orange and white Scottish Fold.

"Who let you out of the cat carrier?" Arthur asked as he walked over to his cat and picked him up. Muffin simply stared back with his usual unimpressed expression. As if to answer his question, Arthur felt something rub up against his leg. He jumped slightly then looked down to investigate. Blue eyes stared back up at him. _'Hero?'_ He wondered in confusion as he studied the cat. It was about as big as Hero but this cat didn't have the iconic dark mane that the two Raggamuffin's had, and it was platinum white instead of an off white color, it's hair was also much longer and silkier looking.

Arthur's eyes slowly narrowed as he finally recognized the silky creature. "Please don't tell me…" He muttered as he set his own cat back down on the heavy trunk then knelt down beside the flirtatious newcomer. He hesitated for a moment then reached out and checked the animal for a collar. He did in fact find one located underneath all the hair. On the silver tag a single word was engraved.

**"Francois"**

Arthur's eye twitched. "Bloody hell." He growled as he stood back up. A loud clatter from the second story alerted the Englishman of what he was already fearing.

Arthur grit his teeth in anger. "If you broke anything, you'll be getting a sound thrashing, frog!" He yelled as he quickly left the large living room to confront his unwelcome frenemy.

* * *

x**X**x **xXx** x**X**x

**~(WMD)~**

**Are those really their names? Or did I just make them up? **

**I don't really know. But I've always called them that for some reason. **

**Can anyone tell me the names of some of the other cats? I'm not going to use all of them. I just feel that it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that some of the countries brought their pets with them, since they would be gone for so long. If nobody knows their names, that's ok. I can just name them myself if I have to. **

**BTW, if I'm still formatting incorrectly. It's cool. I think it looks pretty ok now, so please don't be too critical. K?**

**xXx**

**This chapter was a little slow. But I needed to get zee ball rolling somehow! **

**The next chapter is going to focus on Arthur~ **

**I just love his angry face XD**

Review if you like~


	3. It's More Fun With Friends

**Je suis desole...**

**I know, this chapter took forever to come out. I've been oh so busy lately.**

**Darn you, real life! *shakes fist dramatically***

_**'Thoughts' **_**"Speech"**

**-(SC)- = Scene Change**

**Warnings for - Wrathful Italians, France's Ulterior Motive, and Spain's Long Lost Baby!**

x**X**x** xXx **x**X**x

**It's More Fun With Friends~**

Alfred sighed heavily once the front door had clicked shut behind him. The issue with his memory wasn't really his topic of choice. It wasn't that it really bothered _him_ that much, it was just that whenever the subject came up, Matthew always became depressed and he could do nothing to fix it. It made him feel quite useless, really. Useless, and guilty for being the cause of the problem.

The teen let out a half hearted laugh as he pushed his concerns away for a second time. He then put his hands into his pockets and started over to the Italians and their beat up car. Alfred had made it about half way there when he heard the front door open again. He turned back curiously and spotted Arthur. That brought a small smile to his face which quickly turned into a grin.

"Hey, Artie!" Alfred called, getting the Englishman's attention.

Arthur looked over to the American and slowed to a stop. "Yes…?" He asked as if he had been taken away from his thoughts.

Alfred grinned and took his hands out of his pockets. "Seriously, dude. Drive carefully." He cautioned again, though it sounded sarcastic this time. "Keep to the right." He reminded, teasingly, as he motioned with his hands the correct lane to drive in.

Arthur's face flushed. "Shut it! I drove you here safely, didn't I? You don't have to keep reminding me!"

"Yea? I totally saw that _little correction _you made at the gas station earlier this morning." Alfred smirked. He loved getting a rise out of the gentlemanly Brit. Even so, his concerns were in fact real.

The Englishman scowled. "How is it that you remember something like _that_, but you can't remember a house that you spent years in?!" Arthur retorted. He instantly regretted those last words when he saw the hurt that flashed across the American's face.

Alfred inwardly flinched at the sting of that last comment but he recovered quickly and gave Arthur another bright smile in return. "I dunno, man. I guess I'm just awesome like that." He replied as he concluded the conversation with a wave of his hand. "See you tomorrow at the Conference, Artie." With that said, Alfred turned and walked away, leaving the Englishman to his thoughts.

Arthur frowned as he watched the teen walk off. He wanted to apologize for what he had said, but doing so now seemed a bit awkward. So instead, Arthur simply turned and continued to his car without another word. This whole issue was bothering him even more now. Why hadn't he been aware of this until now? How bad was it? Most importantly however, Arthur wanted to know if there was anything to be done about it.

_'I wonder what Matthew knows…'_

**-(SC)-**

"Lemme help you with that, Lovino" Alfred offered as he approached the two Italians. Lovino, who had been tugging at his brother's suitcase that had somehow become lodged between the backseat and the passenger seat, looked up and glared.

"I don't need your help, America." He grumbled as he turned back and continued pulling at the handle.

"Just let him help, Lovi." Feliciano urged. The northern Italian was crouched beside the passenger seat, fiddling with the lever on the side. "I think the seat's jammed." He concluded as he finally gave up his attempt and looked over to the American.

"I said I don't need his help!" Lovino replied stubbornly and tugged harder at the suitcase.

"Hey! What's wrong with _my_ help?" Alfred retorted from where he stood a few feet away. He then crossed his arms sulkily as he watched the southern Italian who obviously needed some assistance.

"First off, I already said no." Lovino replied grumpily as he pulled even harder on the handle. "And, secondly, because you'll break something! So just go away. We don't ne-" The sudden release of the handle from the suitcase silenced the Italian and sent him stumbling backwards into the cause of his annoyance.

"Dude, you ok?" Alfred asked after he had caught the smaller man under the arms before he had fallen to the ground. Lovino tilted his head back and stared up at the American in shock as a blush raged across his face in embarrassment. He then quickly got back to his feet and shoved the teen away harshly.

"This is all your fault!" Lovino raged.

"How was that _my_ fault…?" Alfred sighed as he walked past the irate Italian man and over to the suitcase.

"Are you alright, Lovi?" Feliciano asked as he came over to his brother and put a hand on his shoulder for moral support. He didn't quite know why, but ever since they had arrived, his twin's mood had taken a turned for the worse. The southern Italian looked over to his brother and sighed but before Lovino could answer, he was interrupted by the sound of a high pitched metallic whine followed by a loud crunch. Both Italians whipped their heads back in the direction of the car to see what had happened.

"Here's your suitcase." Alfred said as he set the case down on the grass beside him.

"You broke the seat!" Lovino exclaimed, astounded. He had only been half serious about the possibility of the American breaking anything, but he didn't think it would actually happen.

"No, I fixed it." Alfred replied smugly. "See, it's not stuck anymore." He said as he took the seat and moved it back then forward again. The sound of loose clicking noises followed the action. Neither Feliciano or Lovino could think of a proper way to respond to that as they stared back with a mixture of disbelief and shock.

"Now," Alfred began as he took a step back to look at the car. "let's get this heap to the curb." He suggested. The Italians watched as he walked around to the back of the car and bent down. Lovino gaped, whereas his brother's eyes widened slightly as the back of the car was lifted effortlessly from the ground with one hand.

"Hey!" Lovino finally snapped. "Put my car down!" He demanded as he marched over to the American threateningly.

"We need to move it so the tow truck doesn't trash Mattie's yard anymore then _you_ already have." Alfred replied calmly as he started pulling the car behind him as if it weighed next to nothing.

Feliciano stayed behind as the car was hauled away. His brother followed close behind, all the while spouting a loud tirade at the teen as he gestured animatedly. The northern Italian flinched when another crunch was heard, this one was a little different though. He looked down and spotted the remains of what looked like a red and white mailbox, once the car was removed from on top of it.

"Hey guys~" Feliciano called from where he still stood underneath the maple tree. Neither his brother, nor the American seemed to be paying attention to him however.

Alfred sighed as he dropped the back of the car, once it was safely to the side of the road. "Look, I wasn't the one who crashed your car." He tried to reason. "That's all on you, dude. It's not _my_ fault you drive like a lunatic." He concluded with a shrug of his shoulders.

Lovino gasped indignantly. "That's it, Mr." He growled as he leaned into the open passenger side window and collected something from the dashboard. "This weatherman is predicting a 99% chance of shit storm, and it's coming right at ya!" He yelled as he stood back with an arm full of tomatos.

Alfred lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "I didn't know you were a weatherman!"

Lovino narrowed his green eyes and grit his teeth at the lack of concern he had just received from his threat.

…

"Ah! My Texas!" Alfred cried as a tomato was smushed into his face.

**-(SC)-**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Antonio asked as he followed his two friends up the old staircase. "I mean, what if he gets like really mad?"

"He haz a point, und it vould be totally un-awesome if he kicks us out. So you better be right about zis!" Gilbert said loudly as he voiced his concerns as well.

"Well, I can't give you a full guarantee zat zis will work, Arthur is 'ighly unpredictable after all, but if I know 'im even a little, zen we will be getting ourselves free room and board without too much trouble." Francis reassured his friends as he reached the top of the stairs. He then paused as he took his time deciding which way to go. This definitely wasn't the same house he remembered, though it actually _was_ in the exact same location. The old colonial home was close to the city but tucked cleverly out of the people's way. There wasn't any sign that it had been vandalized in any way either, though the national importance of this location might have warded off any potential offenders.

_'It must be nice 'aving a child'ood 'ome zat you can still go back to.'_ Francis secretly mused as he chose the hallway to the left of him. _'I wonder if petit Mathieu ever visits…' _

"Do you know when he's supposed to get here?" Antonio asked as he combed out another cobweb from his messy hair. The house didn't appear to have had a proper cleaning in decades, if not more and it was making this venture less desirable by the minute.

"Zat depends if 'e 'as delivered Amerique to 'is brozziar's 'ouse yet." Francis replied after he had cracked open a door to one of the old bedrooms and peaked in. "If so, zen 'e should be 'ere soon." He then opened the door wider and walked in.

"He's going to shtay at his bruder's house?" Gilbert smirked. "How lame."

"Don't you _live_ at your hermano's house, Gil?" Antonio asked as he grinned at his friend's back.

"Nein! I don't live wiz him, dummkopf! He lives wiz me!" Gilbert defended adamantly as he walked into the room as well, with a huff. "Vhy do ve even vant to shtay in a crap place like zis anyway?" He asked as he eyed the large room with displeasure.

"I agree with Gil, mi amigo." Antonio said as he stepped into the old dusty room, behind his friends. "This place has definitely seen better days, no?"

"Actually, I waz expecting it to be in even worse condition." Francis replied as he explored his surroundings. "Besides, I don't know about eizzair of you, but I'd rassair not ztay in zee UN lodging next to notre cher, Allemagne."

"You're next to him too, Francis?" Antonio asked as he lifted his eyebrows.

"Oui, right next to him." Francis revealed with a tragic sigh.

"Really? Me too!" Antonio exclaimed with a bright smile. "You wouldn't believe how much paperwork I saw him carrying in with him this morning."

"I vould." Gilbert admitted in an uncharacteristically subdued manner.

"Oh _yeh_, that's right you room with him, don't you?" Antonio laughed.

"Vhy vould you efen ask zat?" Gilbert asked as he gave the Spaniard an incredulous look.

"Zen zat just leaves up wis one question." Francis started as he reeled the attention back to himself again. "Do we want to ztay in zis 'uge 'ouse for a mons, or do we want to be ztuck in a tiny room next to an angry German who will most likely be ztaying up late into the night?"

There was a few seconds of heavy silence as they contemplated.

"I call zis room, lozers!" Gilbert proclaimed loudly as he tossed his black travel bag into the corner and then rushed over to the old bed.

"ey! You can't just decide zat on your own!" Francis snapped as he watched the Prussian jump onto the antique looking bed without bothering to take off his shoes first. A cloud of dust wafted into the air around him.

Francis shook his head as the urge to sneeze tried to overcome him. After suppressing it, he made his way over to the large window and unlocked the latch. With a bit of effort he was able to push the glass doors open to let some fresh air inside.

Antonio ignored them as he took the time to take in his surroundings. The old place was rather elegant in a modest sense. Hardwood was laid throughout the house, covered occasionally by strategically placed red and blue carpet. This room was bare hardwood however, and appeared to be the master bedroom for how big it was. There were maps hung on the walls, portraying the "Old World" and the uncharted "New World." Chests and trunks of assorted sizes were tucked neatly beside the antique looking furniture. His eyes traveled to the nearby bookcase. Many of the books were so old that the titles had faded away completely. On the very top of the bookcase he spotted what looked like a child's toy. A wooden boat with a cloth sail, a tiny old fashioned Union Jack was placed above the sail at the end of the wooden pole.

_'Did I ever give Romano anything like that?' _Antonio wondered as he stared at the toy for a few more seconds, lost in thought. A moment later, his green eyes slowly traveled above the toy and he caught sight of something _extremely_ familiar.

"Es que mi hacha?!"

Both Francis and Gilbert looked over to their Spanish friend questioningly. He was standing next to a dusty bookcase beside the antique looking wardrobe and staring up at something. They followed his gaze and spotted a rusty war axe mounted on the wall above the bookcase like a trophy.

Antonio looked down with a small frown as he analyzed the strength of the wooden shelves. They didn't look too reliable, even so, he still decided to give it a try.

"Hey, you guys," Antonio started as he turned to look at his two friends. "come hold the bookcase so it doesn't tip over."

"Vhat are you going to do?" Gilbert asked as he hopped off the bed and made his way over to his friend.

"I want to get a better look at that axe." Antonio replied honestly.

"I'm not zo sure zat's a good idea, mon ami." Francis frowned as he voiced his worry, but he came over nonetheless. "Try not to break anysing. It will make it 'arder for me to negotiate wis Angleterre if you do." He stressed as he took hold of one side of the bookcase and held it steady.

The shelves creaked loudly from the strain of the Spaniard's weight as he ascended. It was obvious that this wasn't a good idea, but thinking this through beforehand wasn't something Antonio wanted to bother with at the moment.

"Hurry up!" Gilbert snapped as the bookshelf began pushing back against him in an attempt to topple over.

"Almost got it…" Antonio replied as he tugged at the axe. It wasn't budging.

"Did you 'ear zat?" Francis asked as he listened closer.

"Hear vhat?" Gilbert growled as he tried to push some of the books back onto the shelf before they slid out.

"Oh merde!" Francis gasped. "It's Arthur! 'urry up and get down!" He whisper-shouted up at the Spaniard.

Antonio looked down at them doubtfully for a moment. He then looked back up at the axe and decided to give it one last try. This time however, he put all of his strength into it. With one solid tug, the axe was released from the mount it was held upon. The whiplash caught Antonio unprepared and he was pushed backwards with the axe in his hands as his balance abandoned him.

"Ah! Watch out!" Antonio warned as he fell back.

"Eehh! C'est une Guillotine!" Francis shrieked as he jumped back and out of danger.

"Mein Gott!" Gilbert cried as he just barely evaded the falling bookcase, now that it lacked a second support.

A loud crash echoed throughout the old colonial house, then there was silence. Francis, who was now standing far away and out of danger looked over to his friends in shock. Gilbert gaped back at him from where he sat on the floor a few inches away from the heavy wooden object that had almost crushed him. Their eyes were redirected when something round and red rolled out from underneath the bookcase and came to a stop next to the heavy bladed war axe that was now implanted into the wooden floor a few feet away. It was a nice ripe tomato…

"You guys are bad amigos…" Antonio wheezed from underneath the bookshelf.

Francis and Gilbert looked back to their fallen friend and cringed.

"If you broke anything, you'll be getting a sound thrashing, frog!" Arthur called from downstairs.

Francis paled

"Merde..."

* * *

x**X**x **xXx** x**X**x

**~(WMD)~**

**Le French**

petit = little

Mon ami = My friend

Amerique = America

Angleterre = England

Notre cher, Allemagne = Our dear, Germany

Oh merde! = Oh crap!

C'est une Guillotine! = It's a Guillotine!

**La Spanish**

Mi amigo = My friend

Hermano = Brother

Es que mi hacha?! = Is that my axe?!

**Das German**

Bruder = Brother

Nein = No

Dummkopf = Idiot

Mein Gott = My God

**If I've gotten the translations wrong, please feel free to correct me in a PM~**

**xXx**

**WMD's fun facts! **

**The British Flag has many stages, so the one I mentioned is not the one we see today but one before it.**

Feel free to leave me a review~


	4. France's Secret Leverage

**~(WMD)~**

**heh hehe I just realized I left the last chapter with a double cliff-hanger!**

**Sorry~ ****Here's an update right before Thanksgiving! **

**After Turkey Day, I'll have alot more time to write. Well, generally speaking.**

_**'Thoughts' **_**"Speech" **

**-(SC)- = Scene Change**

**~(TS)~ = Time Skip**

**Warnings for - Tough Negotiations and Tomato Warfare**

x**X**x** xXx **x**X**x

**France's Secret Leverage**

Not that it will make a difference but, …why are you lot even here…?" Arthur asked tiredly as he sat down on an old treasure chest by the bed. He then crossed his legs and stared down his trespassers with a discerning and grumpy glare. This day was truly becoming exhausting.

"England, my dear friend." Francis started cautiously as he stood a few feet away from the dangerously calm acting Englishman. He was trying to word what he had to say as carefully as he could and entirely in English to make it sound more appealing to his frenemy but without sounding too personal. "We were 'oping you would be willing to let us ztay wis you for zee mons. You 'ave zuch a large 'ouse, zo it's not like we would be in your way or anysing."

"Ja, zis place iz huge! You should let us shtay vis you!" Gilbert practically demanded as he sat next to the Spaniard on the floor amongst a pile of books. Remarkably, Antonio didn't appear to have been injured too badly in the accident and ever since they had removed the bookcase from on top of him, he had been sitting there gushing over the axe he had found while completely ignoring the rest of them.

Francis shot a disapproving look towards the Prussian as he inwardly cringed at Gilbert's careless choice of words.

"And why would I do that?" Arthur asked as he distracted himself by holding up the toy boat he had found on the floor to better view it. He had helped the boys make this toy many years ago, it brought back fond memories for him. "The way I see it," Arthur continued. "the three of you came into _my_ house uninvited. I can't imagine you actually believe you would receive a warm welcome from me. So," Arthur lifted his gaze to glare coldly at the Frenchman before him. "…what is your second approach. Dare I say, I don't imagine this polite proposal was the only tactic you armed yourself with. You did come _all_ this way after all. So let's hear it."

Francis let out a nervous laugh whereas Gilbert nearly choked on the heavy atmosphere that had settled around them like a thick fog. Antonio however, didn't appear to be affected in the slightest, as he was far too busy trying to wipe a smudge from the blade of the old war axe.

"Aw? You know me too well, Arthur." Francis said as he put on a smirk. He didn't think his first approach would work anyway, it was just a formality after all. Now, onto the second approach. _Entitlement_.

Arthur frowned as the Frenchman's posture changed and he flipped his hair sassily. "You owe me, mon ami." Francis started arrogantly. "I'm sure you noticed zee petit Italian 'ousguests ztaying wis notre cher Mathieu.

Arthur rolled his eyes. _'There it is…' _He thought to himself as he set the toy boat down on the bed. He had a feeling Francis would try to cash in on that little deed. Not once did he think that it was simply coincidence that the Frenchman had suggested Matthew's house to the Italian twins.

Arthur sighed. "Yes, that was very clever of you and I appreciate it, but that doesn't give you the right to invade my house, frog." He said as he got back to his feet and walked past the blonde man. "If that's all you have, then I'd suggest you leave. Good deeds aside, I still don't want you here."

Francis' arrogant smirk dropped into a frown at the immediate rejection. He sighed heavily, he had really hoped that that would have worked. Well, ...on to the third approach… _Blackmail_.

"Zstop right zere, Angleterre." Francis ordered, bringing the smaller blonde man to a halt before he had a chance to exit the room. Arthur turned to look at Francis, a frown firmly set in his expression as he waited for the threat he already knew was coming. "I sink it would be in your best interest to reconsider letting us ztay 'ere wis you." Francis warned as he dug around in his pockets.

Arthur clenched his jaw as he watched his frenemy with apprehension. _'Oh God, what does he have now…?' _He silently dreaded. The act of embarrassing information warfare between them had been going on for …well ...longer then either of them could honestly remember. The problem was, that Arthur had been so preoccupied lately, he for once didn't have anything to counteract such a threat at this time, which in turn, left him quite vulnerable. _'Keep calm.' _He urged himself. _'I'm sure he doesn't have anything too bad. I can just ignore it.'_

"Ah, 'ere it iz." Francis said as he pulled his wallet out and flipped it open. He smirked as he slid a small picture out from one of the card sleeves. Arthur swallowed nervously. Pictures were one of the worst forms of embarrassment. Well, besides his log books that somehow had landed into French possession years ago. They were after all the closest thing he kept to a diary. ...Other than his _actual_ diary, which of course he denies the very existence of, less it be found. Only one person had ever actually found his diary …and that one person probably doesn't even remember the discovery. So it was quite safe.

Arthur brushed that thought away as he focused in on the small photo in Francis' hands. He had yet to turn it around, and the curiosity was getting to the nervous Brit.

Gilbert was watching as well. The up's and down's of this negotiation had been a little iffy at first but now it seemed his friend had some leverage. He frowned as Francis waved for the Englishman to come over to him. After a moment's hesitation, England slowly made his way over to the taller blonde man. They both turned their backs to Gilbert and the distracted Antonio so Francis could privately reveal his bargaining chip.

"Give me that!" Arthur raged almost instantly as he swiped the photo out of Francis' hands. Without a second thought, he tore the picture into small pieces angrily. "How do you even _have_ this, I thought your camera was destroyed!"

Francis smirked at the bright blush that had appeared on Arthur's face. He then reached into his wallet again and slid out a duplicate photo. "Angleterre." He called, bringing the smaller man's attention back to him. Arthur snapped his head up from destroying the embarrassing photo and spotted the double. He glared daggers at the Frenchman as he grit his teeth in silent fury.

"I 'ave made multiple copies of zis particular photograph, mon amour. I can easily make it zee 'ot topic at tomorrow's conference." Francis threatened as he waved the photo back and forth to taunt his fremeny.

"I hate you, frog…" Arthur grumbled as he followed the photo with his emerald eyes, his blush refusing to subside.

"Zo, can we ztay?" Francis asked with a grin. He already knew the answer but it was too satisfying for him to have the upper hand over Arthur. He craved to hear those words of defeat.

Arthur let out a slow breath as his shoulders drooped slightly. He knew he had lost. The Englishman resisted the urge to strangle the fancy man before him and instead turned around and marched back towards the door. He stopped at the threshold and shot a venomous glare at Francis.

"Fine." Arthur growled. "But you can't stay in this room, it's mine. And don't you _dare_ take the twin's rooms either. You can have the maid's quarters at the other end of the house. That way you'll at least be away from me." With that said, the grumpy Englishman departed the room in a huff.

Gilbert grinned as he turned back to Francis. "Vay to go, mein friend!" He praised, then stood back up and walked over to the Frenchman. "Vhat vas zat picture? Let me zee!"

"Non." Francis replied as he tucked the photo away and out of sight.

Gilbert frowned. "Don't be so shtingy und let me zee!" He demanded.

"If I let you zee it, zen you would just tell everyone about it." Francis explained logically. "If you did zat, zen zee zthreat of zis photo would be pointless.

"He's got a point there, mi amigo." Antonio said as he stood up as well. He then slung the axe over his shoulder and smiled. "If you talked about it, and we know you would, we wouldn't be able to stay in this nice house. We'd have to go back to the UN Building and _you_ would have to stay with your hermano. So let's try and not push our luck, si?"

"Oui, zmarter words were never zaid, mon ami." Francis agreed as he followed the Spaniard out the door.

Gilbert scowled as he watched his friends leave. "You guys are being totally un-awesome!" He yelled but received no response… "Hey! Don't leave me here, you lozers!" Gilbert demanded as he grabbed his travel bag and rushed out the door after them.

**-(SC)-**

"Now let's see, do we need anything else?" Matthew asked aloud as he opened up the refrigerator to check if he missed anything.

"Did you put cookies on the list?" Kumajiro asked as he followed his owner around. This after all, was _very_ important and he didn't want to forget anything, …like snacks.

Matthew sighed. "Yes, I put cookies on the list and I even underlined it _twice_ and circled it with a red marker, so stop asking."

The small polar bear frowned at his favorite person, then plopped down on the floor sulkily. He had only been trying to help. His annoyance grew when he felt something rub against him. Kumajiro turned and glared at Maple as the Ragamuffin sat down next to him, invading his personal space. The cat then turned his attention and stared up at one of the higher cabinets over their heads. Out of curiosity, the small bear looked as well. He deadpanned when he spotted a super fluffy dark brown tail swishing back and forth from a closed cabinet.

"Did you put cat food on the list?" Kumajiro asked as he continued to watch the tail with mild interest.

"I actually forgot that one, good thinking Mr. KumaCandyCorn." Matthew praised as he took out a pen to write cat food on the list as well. Kumajiro watched as the tail disappeared within the cabinet just as his favorite person turned around, right after he had finished adding the new item to the grocery list.

"Do we have enough cereal?" Matthew asked while opening the cabinet right next to the one Hero was in. He took a box out and hummed thoughtfully when he noticed it was only half full. "Better put this down as well."

When the Canadian turned back around to write 'cereal' on the list, Hero popped out of the cabinet and landed heavily onto the countertop before leaping to the floor in one fluid motion. Without delay the fluffy Ragamuffin exited the kitchen in a rush, carrying something in his mouth. Maple's ears perked with interest and he made off after his friend, leaving Kumajiro as the only witness to their thievery.

"Do you think anyone wants to come with us?" Matthew asked his polar bear companion as he folded the grocery list and tucked it away in his back pocket. Before Kumajiro had time to respond, loud familiar laughter erupted from outside, followed by someone else shouting something.

Matthew frowned. "Do I even want to know…?" He muttered as he made his way to the front door. He came to his conclusion almost instantly when he opened it and took a step outside.

"You guys, _stop_!" Feliciano cried as he just barely dodged a flying tomato that had been aimed at Alfred as he ran past the northern Italian.

Lovino scowled. "Stop moving so I can hit you!" He yelled as he took aim again. Both he and Alfred were now splattered here and there with red tomato juice, but neither of them seemed to care at the moment.

"Matteo!" Feliciano exclaimed as he spotted the Canadian standing at the door looking bewildered. "Saveh me!" he cried as he rushed over and hid behind the larger nation.

Hearing this, Alfred directed his attention to the door as well. He slowed to a stop when he saw his brother. Lovino, who had been watching his target closely, smirked when he noticed the American was now distracted.

Both Feliciano and Matthew flinched when Alfred was struck in the chest by a high speed tomato sneak attack.

Despite Lovino's grumpy disposition, he couldn't help himself as he started laughing at the surprised look on the American's face. Alfred looked over to him with a small frown, but it quickly turned into a smirk as he bent down and collected the remains of the tomato from the ground.

"That was a cheap shot, man!" Alfred complained lightheartedly as he sent the crushed fruit back at the laughing Italian. Lovino quickly leaned to the left to avoid being hit, however he was still pelted with the juice that came with it.

The southern Italian took a step back as he wiped the juice off his face. He then narrowed his eyes at the now laughing American as he readied his last tomato.

Matthew finally let out a heavy sigh then face palmed. "What started _this_?" He asked, directing his question to the cowering Italian standing behind him.

"I don't _know~!"_ Feliciano whined as he peeked out from behind Matthew. "I haven'teh seen tomato abuse this bad sinceh I went with Fratello to Antonio's "La Tomatina" festival!"

"La Toma-what?" Matthew asked, confused as he turned his head to look at Feliciano.

"Oh, It's a-" Feliciano's explanation stopped mid-sentence when Alfred ran past them. As soon as the American was out of the way he spotted a large ripe tomato flying right towards them. "Watch out, Matteo!" Feliciano cried as he ducked behind the Canadian again.

Matthew turned his head just in time to see a tomato coming right at him. He closed his eyes and flinched, which was all he could think to do in such little time. A few seconds later when nothing happened, the teen slowly opened his eyes.

"Niceh catch, Alfred." Feliciano praised happily. Matthew turned his gaze to see his brother standing next to him with a tomato in his hand.

"Hey! Be careful, dude. You almost hit Mattie!" Alfred scolded as he tossed the tomato into the air casually and then caught it again with his other hand. Matthew wanted to roll his eyes at his brother's usual overprotective tendencies but he just couldn't this time. Instead he gave his twin a small but thankful smile.

Lovino tsked. "That would haveh been your own fault, since you're the one who started this!" He shot back.

Alfred made an indignant sound to the Italian's retort. "All I did was move your car!" He defended. "You totally overreacted!"

Lovino gaped at the American. "All you did? You broke the passenger's seat! Did you forget?" He reminded angrily. "Giveh me back my tomato!"

"Why?" Alfred asked, looking doubtful.

"So I can hit you with it!" Lovino yelled.

Alfred frowned slightly then shrugged. "If that's what you want…" He replied as he arched his arm back to throw the tomato to the Italian. Before he could however, he felt the fruit being taken from his hand.

"Let's try to avoid anymore injuries, eh?" Matthew said with a nervous laugh as he took the tomato into his own hand for safe keeping. Alfred flushed slightly, knowing exactly what his brother was hinting at.

"Come on bro, I don't play that rough anymore." Alfred argued. That only earned him an eye roll from his twin. As if saying "_Sure you don't_."

"Can we go, already?" Came an impatient voice before Alfred could continue arguing against a comment that was never verbally spoken.

Feliciano, Matthew, and Alfred all looked down to see Kumajiro just inside the door looking bored.

"Where are you going?" Alfred asked curiously, already forgetting about the tomato war that he may or may not have been the cause of.

"Well, I was planning on going to the grocery store…" Matthew informed tiredly as he walked past Feliciano then bent down and picked up Kumajiro from the floor. "I was going to ask if anyone wanted to come, but…" His sentence trailed off as he walked away from them and into the house.

"I want to come~" Feliciano said as he followed the Canadian.

"Alright." Matthew accepted without turning to look at the northern Italian.

"Me too." Alfred chimed in from behind them.

"No way." Matthew rejected as he turned and eyed the messy American.

Alfred instantly pouted. "No fair, how come _he_ gets to go and I don't?" He asked childishly.

"Because, _he's_ not covered with tomato juice." Matthew replied calmly as he took out his coat from the hall closet.

"Are you going somewhere?" Lovino asked from the doorway. He had decided to come inside as well, seeing as everyone seemed to have forgotten about him.

"Vee~ Matteo and I are going to the grocery store." Feliciano said while giving his brother a smile.

"I'm coming too." Lovino said forcefully, leaving little room for argument. Matthew hesitated as he looked over to the easily riled Italian man. He wanted to say 'no' to him as well, but Lovino _wasn't_ like Alfred and he wasn't sure how he would take a rejection. Matthew let a soft sigh escape him as he lowered his coat.

"Fine, but you both have to take a shower first. You can't go into the store like that." Matthew finally relented, though he still wasn't happy about giving in to the Italian's demands so easily. He felt like a push over now.

Alfred flashed his brother a grin as he made his way to the stairs. "Be down in 10." He said before disappearing to the second story bathroom.

**~(TS)~**

"Do you think those two can get along together for a month?" Matthew asked quietly. Both he and Feliciano were now sitting on the couch in the living room waiting for Lovino and Alfred to get cleaned up.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Feliciano asked.

"They don't seem to get along very well." Matthew stated glumly.

Feliciano looked over to the Canadian surprised. He then smiled. "I don't think you need to worry. It may not look like it, but Lovino was actually having fun outside when he was fighting with Alfred."

Matthew lifted his eyebrows and gave Feliciano a curious look. "He was? He didn't look like he was having fun to me…"

Feliciano hummed thoughtfully and nodded. "When we arrived, Lovi was in a really bad mood and it was just getting worse for some reason. But when he started fighting with Alfred, it gave him someone to vent his frustrations at. It may seem odd, but he's in a _much_ better mood now."

Matthew smiled softly at Feliciano's explanation. "I understand what you're saying." He agreed as he thought about how Alfred's mood had also been lifted. He had looked rather depressed after their conversation a little while ago but now he seemed to be genuinely happier. "You're right, maybe it won't be as bad as I thought."

"I didn't say that~" Feliciano joked as he gave Matthew an unreadable smile.

* * *

x**X**x **xXx** x**X**x

**~(WMD)~**

**As you can see, I am running out of Kuma names, if you have any that you would like to share, that would be great! Otherwise, I shall keep using unhealthy snacks as my inspiration. :3**

**xXx**

**La French**

Mon amour = My love

**xXx**

**La Tomatina** - If you were like me, you looked up **"Spain"** and **"Tomatos"** just like the sarcastic Hetalia narrator lady told you to do. If you did, then you already know what it is and I don't have to tell you! XD

If you didn't...

**La Tomatina = Epic Tomato Fight!**

**look it up~ **

Reviews are appreciated.


	5. First Name Basis!

**Big Spaaaace~**

**I have learned a valuable life lesson - (Never say you'll have _more_ time to write.)**

**You'll jinx yourself! o.o**

_**'Thoughts' **_**"Speech"**

**~(TS)~ = Time Skip**

**-(SC)- = Scene Change**

**Warnings for - Impulsive Shoppers, Mystery Milk, and the Captivating Curl~**

x**X**x** xXx **x**X**x

**First Name Basis!**

"Oh man, I missed you jacket!" Alfred gushed as he wrapped his arms around himself, giving himself and his iconic brown bomber jacket a hug. It had been almost 4 whole months since he had worn his favorite jacket, due entirely to that fact that he had stashed it at his brother's house so his clothes phobic alien friend couldn't destroy it.

"Wow~ You looka like America again!" Feliciano exclaimed as he stood beside Alfred and beamed.

"You say that like it's a good thing." Lovino grouched as he opened the door to the passenger's side and got in, claiming the front seat.

"Lame, dude. You didn't even say shotgun." Alfred complained, ignoring the actual comment.

"Shotgun." Lovino replied simply then slammed the door. That earned him a sound of indignation from the American.

Feliciano silently laughed at that. His brother definitely knew how to rub people the wrong way. Even so, America never seemed to get genuinely upset about it. Maybe that's why he liked him so much. He was fun to be around and tough to rile, quite the opposite of Germany, who was stiff and easy to anger.

Feliciano looked down and sighed dejectedly. Ludwig was still mad at him. And it was over something so trivial. Ok, maybe not trivial to _him_. But still, it had been over a month and the German was still angry. Wasn't it about time for him to just forgive and forget?

Feliciano was brought back from his gloomy thoughts when he felt someone nudge him gently with their elbow. He looked up and was greeted by a reassuring smile from Alfred.

"Smile, Feli. It's weird seeing you so down." Alfred urged. He felt slightly perplexed when he caught sight of Feliciano's uncharacteristically depressed expression. He was usually so happy and carefree. So seeing him look sad was very unfamiliar to the teen.

"Did you want the front seat too?" Alfred asked as he eyed the grumpy Italian sitting in the passenger's seat. "If you want, I bet we can take him." He said, taking on a determined tone.

Feliciano's lips twitched upward before forming a goofy smile at the American's words. "Let's just takeh the backseat." He suggested with a laugh as he took hold of Alfred's hand and opened the car door.

"Alright.." Alfred relented with a small frown as he allowed himself to be pulled into the backseat with Feliciano.

Lovino glared as he watched them through the side view mirror. _'Why does Feli have to act so damn friendly with that idiota…' _He silently grumbled. Lovino was beginning to wonder if he had been wrong in thinking that Alfred wasn't quite as bad as watching his brother with Ludwig. At least with the German, his twin's overly affectionate mannerisms were, for the most part ignored or shrugged off as a mild annoyance. However, the American seemed completely unfazed by his actions, which seemed to only encourage Feliciano to be even _more_ friendly towards him. _'I don't like it.'_

As soon as Alfred got done fighting with his seatbelt, the driver's side door opened and Matthew looked in. The Canadian quirked an eyebrow at his twin, no doubt wondering why he was back there. He then shrugged it off and smiled.

"Al," Matthew started as he leaned into the car. "take Mr. Kumamocha." He said as he handed his Polar Bear Companion back to his brother for safe keeping.

"Sure thing, bro." Alfred smiled as he accepted the small bear from Matthew. Kumajiro looked around the crowded backseat with displeasure as he was set between his owner's doppelganger and one of the newcomers who smelled of garlic.

"Hey, Alfred." Feliciano said getting the other's attention.

"Hm?" Alfred responded and looked over to him.

"My seatbelt's stuck." Feliciano informed with a hint of frustration as he fought with the strap. It only wanted to come down halfway and then it stopped. Alfred smirked, he had just had that same problem with his belt. Personally he would have rather not bothered with the seatbelts at all but he knew Matthew wouldn't even start the engine until everyone was properly buckled in. It reminded him a bit of Arthur.

"I'll get it for you, Feli." Alfred said as he unbuckled his own seatbelt then leaned over to assist his friend. Kumajiro growled in annoyance as he was squished between the two, whereas Feliciano got a face full of jacket while Alfred tugged at the belt, trying to free it.

"There, got it." Alfred said triumphantly as he pulled the seatbelt across Feliciano and buckled him in. He then sat back and redid his own seatbelt.

"Grazie." Feliciano replied appreciatively as he readjusted the strap so that it wasn't so tight.

"No prob." Alfred nodded with a smile, he then redirected his attention to his brother's polar bear. "Your's too, Bear Dude."

"_Noo_." Kumajiro whined as he was buckled in as well, much to his chagrin. He always had to wear a seatbelt but he was hoping his favorite person's doppelganger would overlook it this time. He was mistaken. The small bear crossed his furry arms and huffed, going directly into pout mode.

Matthew looked back at Kumajiro then rolled his eyes as he smirked lightly at the expected reaction. Sometimes he wasn't quite sure who was more childish, his twin or his polar bear companion. It was really a toss up at times. Either way, he still loved them both dearly. A soft smile graced his lips as he started the car then pulled out of the driveway.

"Vee~ You smell really sweet, Alfred." Feliciano said as he turned in his seat to face the American.

"I do?" Alfred asked as he lifted his eyebrows slightly. He then raised his arm to his face and smelled himself curiously. "Oh," He smiled. "It's not me, it's just my jacket. It smells like maple." He informed with a laugh. Matthew stayed quiet as he listened in on their conversation.

"Why the hell does your jacket smell like maple?" Lovino asked after he was done subtly glaring at them through the mirror.

Alfred shrugged. "Because it's been with Mattie for a few months." He replied simply. "And Mattie always smells like maple for some reason." Alfred added with a smile. A light blush tinted Matthew's cheeks after hearing that.

"Vee~ You must be really close to Matteo to know something like that." Feliciano smiled happily. "Lovi always smells like garlic and tomato's and-"

"Shut _up_!" Lovino snapped. That only earned him a lopsided grin from his brother. The southern Italian rolled his eyes then looked back at Alfred. "That still doesn't explain why your _jacket_ smells like maple." He argued then flicked his eyes over to the Canadian driver. "What, did you sleep with it or something?"

"Dude, after this month, we'll _all_ smell like maple." Alfred shrugged again with a soft chuckle. "It's only a matter of time."

Lovino _may_ have bought that excuse if he hadn't of witnessed the bright blush that spread across Matthew's face at his previous comment. _'Did he actually sleep with it?'_ He wondered as he gave the teen a subtle but discerning look. _'I wonder… Is this guy attracted to his own brother?'_ Lovino found the possibility surprising, though he couldn't bring himself to feel disgusted by it for some reason. He let his eyes travel back to Alfred for a moment before they were naturally drawn to Feliciano. He narrowed his green eyes at him and frowned before looking away and out the window instead. _'Whatever...'_

**~(TS)~**

"Put it back, Mr. KumaCocoaPuffs, you already have your cookies." Matthew said as he looked down at his polar bear and frowned disapprovingly. Kumajiro looked up at his owner and glowered at him as he put the box back on the shelf. He was really regretting not going with his owner's obnoxious other half when he had had the chance. Now he was stuck in the _'no snack'_ zone. Kumajiro huffed and crossed his arms unhappily as he sat in the basket of the shopping cart.

Alfred had been scolded a little while ago for sneaking extra things into the shopping cart as well. After the third offence, Matthew had finally torn the grocery list in half and handed his brother one of the halves in an attempt to get him to focus on the actual items they were looking for. He really should have known better, because in doing so, the simple shopping trip had been upgraded into a scavenger hunt/race. Now their happy little shopping family had been reduced to two and a bear. Alfred had left them to go get a shopping cart of his own and Feliciano had rushed after him to join his "team."

"How the hell did he turn this into a competition?" Lovino asked incredulously as he followed Matthew down one of the aisles.

Matthew quietly laughed as he reached for a blue box on one of the lower shelves. "Alfie can make a game out of just about anything…" He replied as he put the box into the cart. "I just hope he actually gets what's on the list this time."

Lovino didn't reply to that as he watched the taller nation in silence. He knew it wasn't any of his business and he already tried to convince himself that he didn't really care, but… he just couldn't shake his curiosity.

"Hey, …Canada?" Lovino asked, feeling slightly awkward. He wasn't sure if using his human name was acceptable. After all, he didn't really know him that well and he wasn't sure how he'd react. Lovino silently cursed himself for being so shy when it came to stupid things like this. He secretly envied his brother for being so naturally friendly and easily social around others, regardless if he knew them or not.

Matthew turned to look at Lovino with slight confusion written on his face. He then gave the southern Italian a small smile. "You can call me Matthew, or Matteo. Whichever you prefer." He then brushed a hand through his hair and gave a quiet laugh. "Or you can just call me Matt, there really isn't a reason to be so formal. After all, you two are going to be staying with me for awhile." He offered politely.

Lovino blinked then stared at the Canadian in surprise. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before. When Matthew had brushed his hair back and away from his face, he looked identical to Alfred. They were twins! How had he not known this? Lovino slowly frowned as the revelation set in. In his defense, he might not have noticed simply because he almost never noticed Canada in the first place, only because America was so loud and at the center of attention. Still, he felt as if he should have been aware of this. He was a twin himself after all, shouldn't it have been obvious?

Matthew tilted his head and frowned slightly at the strange look on Lovino's face._ 'Did I say something wrong…?'_ He silently began to fret.

"Y-you don't have to though, I-it's fine." Matthew stuttered awkwardly.

Lovino blinked again before shaking himself out of his thoughts. "Grazie, Matteo." He finally replied, ignoring the other's last comment. "You can call me Lovino." He offered in return.

Matthew nodded his head at that and gave him another small smile. "Alright." He accepted. The southern Italian nodded as well before looking away and putting his hands into his pockets. He then continued on ahead of the Canadian without another word. Matthew watched him for a moment before following, a small frown had formed on his lips at Lovino's strange attitude.

"H-hey, …Lovino?" Matthew asked hesitantly.

"What is it?" Lovino replied without turning around.

"Didn't you want to say something before?" Matthew asked, remembering how this conversation had initially started.

"Forget it." Lovino said, dropping the conversation entirely.

"Uh, ..ok…" Matthew said quietly. He wasn't quite sure how to deal with Lovino. He was almost the exact opposite of Feliciano, who was extremely easy to get along with. The southern Italian however, seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about something, though Matthew knew not what.

"I wonder how Al and Feliciano are doing." Matthew wondered aloud quietly to his polar bear companion. Kumajiro, who had just been in the process of reaching for a brightly colored cookie box from the nearby shelf, looked up to his owner guiltily then sat back and crossed his arms again with a loud sigh. Matthew gave his small bear a sympathetic smile before reaching over and taking the cookie box from the shelf. He then handed it to Kumajiro. The polar bear looked up at the box, astonished as he accepted the gift.

"Just don't eat them all at once, eh?" Matthew said as he gave Kumajiro a kind smile.

**-(SC)-**

_'Why is the milk so hard to find…' _Feliciano wondered as he pushed the cart through the dairy aisle. They had gotten just about everything on the list, save for a few items. Feliciano had been tasked with finding the milk and cheese, while Alfred left to go find the remaining items a few aisles down. The Italian's job however, was proving more difficult then he had expected. He had already acquired the cheese but the milk was nowhere to be seen.

_'Maybe I should just ask someone…'_ Feliciano thought as he looked around for someone who might be able to help. He spotted a young bespectacled lady at the end of the dairy aisle handing out free cheese samples to the passing customers. She was a little bit shorter then Feliciano with long honey blonde hair pulled forward over her shoulders into two loose pony tails.

"I wonder if _she_ can help me." Feliciano said aloud with a smile.

"Mi Scusi, miss?" Feliciano started as he put a hand on her shoulder, getting the girl's attention. He had accidentally come from behind while her back was turned. The girl jumped, obviously startled. The tray of cheese almost slipping from her hands.

"Je suis desole!" She apologized quickly in French as she turned around to face Feliciano, her face turning pink with embarrassment. "I d-didn't see you there." She explained with a light French accent.

Feliciano blinked at the reaction he had gotten before smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry, I ah didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to know if you could help me find the milk."

"Milk…?" She asked softly as she watched him closely with her deep blue eyes. She had noticed his accent right away and was now trying to figure out where he was from.

"Si, I can't seem to find any." Feliciano admitted with a laugh as he gestured animatedly to the aisle behind him.

The girl nodded and gave him a soft smile in understanding. "You must not be from around here." She said quietly. "I'll show you where it is." She then gestured for him to follow her.

Feliciano nodded and gave her a grateful smile. "Grazie~"

"Here." The girl said as she picked up a bag. She then handed it to Feliciano. He hesitated for a moment then accepted it.

"Ah! No wonder I couldn't find it!" He said as he held the bag up and looked at in awe. The girl put a hand to her mouth as she laughed quietly at his excitement. He was definitely a foreigner.

"Um, If you don't mind me asking… Where are you from?" The girl asked. She really hoped she wasn't going to offend him with that question, but she was genuinely curious.

After putting the bag of milk into the shopping cart, Feliciano turned back to the girl and smiled. "I'ma from Italia~" He informed.

"Really?" The girl asked with interest. "What is it like there…?"

"You really want to know?" Feliciano asked, flattered. The girl gave him a small smile and nodded. "Well, let's see." He said as he began describing his country to her.

3 minutes into Feliciano's animated explanation, the girl's attention started to wander. She first looked at his clothes. They looked normal for a person his age. She then looked at his face again. He was a tiny bit more tan then she was, with hazel eyes and a really cute face. Her deep blue eyes traveled up to his hair, It was a pleasant shade of brunette and seemed to frame his face nicely. Her gaze was then drawn to the right, where she spotted an odd curl that appeared very out of place. She couldn't help herself as she continued to stare at it in wonder.

Feliciano was now describing places in Germany for some reason. He had somehow gotten off topic, though his audience hadn't really noticed as she slowly bit down on her bottom lip. She was fully focused on that odd hair on the side of his head, it was curled so perfectly. Against her better judgment she carefully moved the cheese tray to her left hand then reached out with her right.

A soft tug on his curl shut Feliciano up almost instantly as a blush appeared on his face. "V-veeh!" He gasped dramatically and leaned back and out of reach of the curious fingers.

"Mon Dieu! Ju suis desole!" The girl cried as she leaned back as well, the plate of cheese falling from her hand in her surprise. She flinched as she waited for the crash.

"Ooo, cheese!" Came a happy voice from close by. She timidly turned around to find a taller man with wheat blonde hair standing behind her, holding the tray of cheese that she thought she had lost. He beamed as he popped a cube of mozzarella in his mouth. He then handed the tray back to her. "Here, I think you dropped this." He said before swallowing.

"Merci.." The girl replied as she stared at him with a new blush on her face. This one was obviously American. There was no mistaking _that_. He wore glasses just like she did, but behind those wire frames, beautiful blue eyes stared back at her.

"Alfred!" Feliciano cried as he quickly moved past the girl and hid behind his friend. "E stato orribile, she pulled my hair!"

The girl quickly looked down then away, clearly flustered.

Alfred turned and gave Feliciano a doubtful looked as he lifted his eyebrows in surprise. He then smirked. "That sucks man, you gotta stay on your toes." He laughed. Alfred then turned back to the girl and smiled sympathetically. She kind of reminded him of Matthew whenever he was embarrassed about something.

Alfred took a few steps to the right then leaned down into her line of sight and gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry about it." He said, trying to reassure her that she had done nothing wrong. "He's just like that. My name's Alfred by the way, and this is Feliciano." He informed as he gestured over to his Italian friend.

The girl blushed even brighter and took a step back. She hesitated for a moment before returning with a shy smile of her own. "It's nice to meet you both." She replied politely. "I'm Madeleine.."

"That's a cute name." Alfred grinned.

"It's a really cute name~" Feliciano agreed with a smile. He seemed to have already gotten over his initial hair pulling shock and was now standing next to Alfred instead of behind him.

"Merci." Madeleine replied shyly with a small smile. She was about to say something else but she didn't get the chance when another louder voice called from a little ways away.

"There you are!" Lovino called from the end of the aisle. "Come on you idiotas, we'reh leaving!" He snapped as he waved for them to follow him.

"Vee~ Already? But we justa got here!" Feliciano called back to his brother. He then turned the shopping cart around to leave. The northern Italian turned back a moment later and waved at his new friend. "Ciao, Madeleine~" He smiled. With that said, he turned around again and headed off to meet his twin.

"Au revoir." Madeleine replied quietly as she waved. He probably didn't hear her anyway.

"It was nice meeting you." Alfred said politely.

"Oui, it was nice meetin-" Madeleine was interrupted by a loud crash in the direction Feliciano had gone and she flinched on instinct. She, along with Alfred turned and looked to see what had happened.

"_This_ is why I don't let you drive!" Lovino yelled as he went to go help his brother pick some items off the floor that had been knocked over in his twin's haste.

"It's not my fault!" Feliciano cried.

Alfred let out a low chuckle. "I better get going." He said as he turned and looked at Madeleine one last time. He then swiped two more cheese cubes from the tray.

"H-hey..!" Madeleine whisper-shouted as she pulled the tray away and out of reached.

Alfred grinned as he popped one of the Mozzarella cubes in his mouth. "See ya, Maddie." He said, then turned and waved as he walked off leaving the blushing girl with mixed feelings of annoyance and …possibly something else.

* * *

x**X**x** xXx **x**X**x

**~(WMD)~**

**La French**

Je suis desole = I'm sorry

Mon Dieu! = My God!

Merci = Thank you

Oui = Yes

Au revoir = Goodbye

**Il Italian**

Mi scusi = Escuse me

Si = Yes

Grazie = Thank you

E stato orribile! = It was horrible!

Ciao = Goodbye/Hello

Idiota = Idiot

**WMD's wonderful notes for in case you were interested.**

**Yes, that was 1pNyo!Canada, she's important to my sub-plot so I'm not throwing her in there just for kicks! o.o**

**Mozzarella is a cheese originally from south Italy~ **

**xXx**

**5th chapter and I'm still on the same day?! Truth is I'm still just getting started. Most of the days won't be this long and some days I will probably skip depending if anything noteworthy happens or not.**

**The AmeCan will start heating up in the next chapter. I'm kinda wondering if I should change my rating to M.**

**What do you think? Course you can get away with alot just using T. lol**

Feel free to leave me a review~


	6. Crunch in the Night!

**:)**

**Happy New Year's Eve Everyone!**

**This is going to be a two parter! The second half will be out later tonight~**

_**'Thoughts' **_**"Speech"**

**~(TS)~ = Time Skip**

**Warnings for - Uber Scary Nighttime Monsters!, ...and foldout beds.**

**(Yes, there needs to be a warning for _every_ foldout bed!)**

x**X**x** xXx **x**X**x

**Crunch in the Night!**

"I'm very sorry I don't have the guest room ready, I wasn't really expecting to be having visitors." Matthew apologized as he handed Feliciano a warm blanket. "Well, aside from my brother that is." He added.

"This is fine." Lovino said as he pulled the cushions off the couch so that he could pull the folding bed out.

"Grazie, Matteo." Feliciano said gratefully as he accepted the blanket. "We'll helpeh you clean it tomorrow."

"Only if you want to." Matthew nodded with a smile. "I'm sorry I forgot about it until now. We were just so busy cleaning the yard that it slipped my mind entirely."

"Uh, hey, Matteo?" Lovino asked hesitantly.

"Yea?" Matthew replied as he looked over to the southern Italian.

"I'ma sorry I brokeh your fence. It was an accident.." Lovino apologized with a slight blush as he looked away, avoiding eye contact. Feliciano looked over to his brother, surprised. His twin almost _never_ apologized to anyone about anything. This was new.

"I know it was. Don't worry about it." Matthew reassured kindly. "Do you two need anything else?"

Both Italians looked back to Matthew before shaking their heads.

"I think we'reh fine for the night." Feliciano said before returning the smile.

"Alright." Matthew nodded again. "Then, I think I'll get ready for bed, myself."

"Wait." Feliciano said, getting the Canadian's attention again. "Where's Alfred going to sleep? He can sleep with us, there's room."

Lovino snapped his attention to his bother and scowled. "_No_ there's not! He's too big for this bed, he'll take up the whole thing! Or worse, he might squash us in our sleep!"

Matthew held back at a laugh at that mental image before shaking his head. "Don't worry." He started as he directed his attention to Lovino before he could make his complaint any louder. "Alfie always sleeps with me, so he's already taken care of."

"You sleep with your fratello?" Lovino asked as he gave the Canadian a dubious look.

"Well, …yea." Matthew replied hesitantly as a light blush dusted his cheeks.

"We sleep together all the timeh, Lovi. It's not _that_ weird." Feliciano said as he turned to grin at his brother.

"Who says I even _want_ to sleep with you?" Lovino retorted as he grabbed the blanket out of his brother's hands.

"You don't want to sleep with me?!" Feliciano gasped. "Why? What did _I_ do?"

Lovino let out a sigh as he unfolded the blanket and tossed it over the foldout bed. "Just shut up and help me out, would you?"

Matthew gave Feliciano a sympathetic smile before turning to leave the duo to their own devices. "Sleep well you two." He said as he walked away.

"Buonanotte, Matteo." Feliciano replied.

"Buonanotte.." Lovino said as well.

**~(TS)~**

"Hey, Feli." Lovino said as the two of them were laying in bed in the dark, trying to get to sleep.

"Hm?" Feliciano replied from the other side of the small bed. He had the warm blanket pulled up to his chin as he watched the shadows of the dark living room suspiciously.

"Did you know they were twins?" Lovino asked quietly. He also had the blanket pulled up to his chin. The still silence of the room was really creepy for some reason. _Not_ that he was scared, of course.

"Who?" Feliciano asked.

"Alfred and Matteo." Lovino elaborated. "Did you know they were twins?" There was a short pause before his brother answered.

"…You didn't _know_?" Feliciano asked confused. Lovino didn't respond to that. "How did you not know?"

"I don't know!" Lovino hissed quietly. "I just thought they looked similar, I didn't know they were actually twins…"

Feliciano smirked lightly and turned to look at his brother in the faint light. "I bet if they were pretty girls like Bella, you would've noticed." He teased.

Lovino flushed slightly at that. "Shut up.." He grumbled. The southern Italian then pulled the blanket roughly and turned over onto his side so that his back was facing his brother. Feliciano frowned at the response he had gotten before looking to the ceiling. His twin had a bad habit of ending conversations that way.

They continued to quietly lay like that as the minutes ticked by. The silence was finally interrupted when a car drove past the house, the headlights illuminating the shadows, making them dance against the walls. There was a sudden clatter from nearby followed by a startled yelp from Lovino as he quickly sat up.

"Did you see that!?" He exclaimed as he continued to watch a certain part of the room carefully, though it was now covered in shadows again.

"See what?" Feliciano asked as he sat up as well, catching the uneasy vibes coming from his twin.

"I saw something small run by over there." Lovino explained nervously.

"What was it?" Feliciano asked getting worried now as well.

"I don't know!" Lovino snapped. "It looked like a-" His sentence was cut off abruptly when one of the cupboards in the nearby kitchen banged shut making him and his brother jump slightly in alarm.

"M-Matteo..? Is that you?" Feliciano called out shakily. He received no reply, only the sound of something possibly heavy being dragged slowly from the kitchen towards them causing a scraping sound as it slid across the cold hardwood floor.

Lovino almost lost it when he felt himself being pulled to the side by his shirt. He then felt his brother wrap his arms around him before burying his face into his back out of fear. Lovino might have tried to shrug his twin off if he himself wasn't just as concerned at the moment.

The scraping noises finally stopped a few feet away from them, just behind the couch, it was then replaced by an odd crunching and crackling sound. Both Italians scooted closer to the middle of the foldout bed and brought the blanket around them for some sort of imaginary protection as they huddled together in silence listening to the disturbing sounds.

* * *

x**X**x **xXx **x**X**x

**~(WMD)~**

**Sorry this half is so short. I actually had to break this chapter in to two because I felt it was too long. I write _wayyy_ too much DX. (or not enough, you decide. lol)**

**Anyway! Who can guess what's scaring the Italies so badly?**

**Also, you know when Mattie said **"Alfie always sleeps with me, so he's already taken care of."** If you take away a few words, it starts sounding rather possessive. (Funny, I didn't realize it till I wrote it.) **

Feel free to leave a review, if you aren't too busy that is~ lol


	7. The Spark of Clarity

**(:**

**Happy New Year! 2014~**

**Sorry this chapter is so freaking long. I think I must have rewritten it like 4 times because I wasn't satisfied. **

**...I'm _still_ not satisfied. **

**As promised, here's your AmeCan! Hope you enjoy it~**

**-(SC)- = Scene Change**

**~(TS)~ = Time Skip**

_**'Thoughts' **_**"Speech"**

**Warnings for - Gourmet Sugar Cookies, Relentless Canadians, Hair pulling, and Secret Acts of Affection.**

x**X**x** xXx **x**X**x

**The Spark of Clarity**

Matthew let out a tired yawn as he made his way from the upstairs bathroom, down the hall to his bedroom. He had taken a quick shower before bed and was now dressed in some warm nightclothes, appropriate for the chilly weather outside.

The Canadian wasn't in the best of moods but now that his houseguests were downstairs and asleep, he didn't have to keep up his polite mannerisms any longer. Today had been very unexpected with the arrival of the Italian twins, and it had made things even _more_ complicated then they already were.

Matthew let out a heavy sigh as he approached his bedroom. _'I wonder what they're doing.' _He thought to himself as he put a hand to the door and pushed it open quietly. Alfred had taken his belongings and gone up to Matthew's room to check on Kumajiro almost an hour ago, he had been missing ever since. The room was dark with nothing but the glow of the TV to cast shadows on the walls. Since the walk down the hallway had also been dark, Matthew didn't have to wait for his eyes to adjust for him to spot his precious polar bear companion.

Kumajiro was sitting on the end of the bed staring at the TV with great fascination. Behind him, Alfred was laying on top of the comforter in his usual spot on the left side of the bed. The American was in his nightclothes as well and was turned over on his side, most likely sleeping. Matthew let out a quiet laugh as he shut the door behind him. He then made his way over to his bear and sat down on the end of the bed beside him.

"What are you watching..?" Matthew asked quietly as he directed his attention to the screen. The volume was turned down a little but it was quite obvious that this was a cooking channel. Kumajiro immediately hushed him as the pretty lady in the frilly pink apron began to talk.

"Ah, look at that golden brown." The lady said as she carefully took a hot tray of freshly baked cookies out of a large oven and set them down on a wire rack. "Now we just need to let them cool for a few minutes." She informed as she faced the screen again with a motherly smile. "Luckily, I have another batch right over here that we can start on. I made these a little while ago, so they are cool enough to decorate."

Both Kumajiro and Matthew watched in silence as she walked over to another counter with various bowls of toppings.

"Now what should we use first?" The woman asked as the scene panned over the assortments.

"Frosting." Kumajiro demanded as quietly as he could. "Use the frosting." Matthew turned and gave the small bear a funny look.

"You know" Matthew started as he lifted an eyebrow at the serious posture his little bear had taken. "you won't be able to eat those cookies even after they're done." Kumajiro didn't reply to that as he chose to ignore his owner's depressing comment. Matthew rolled his eyes as he let out a small breath then turned back to watch the screen. The lady _had_ in fact chosen to use the frosting and was now expertly coating each cookie with a layer of light pink. A few minutes later the teen tried to cover a yawn, he had grown bored with the show and the hectic day was catching up to him.

"Five more minutes, Mr. Kumacookie. We need to get up early tomorrow." Matthew reminded quietly as he gave his bear a small pat on the head and stood up. Kumajiro waved him off grumpily and leaned to the side to get a better view of the TV, completely disregarding his owner's words. Matthew ignored the usual reaction from his polar bear companion and made his way over to the right side of the bed. He then carefully sat down next to Alfred, trying his hardest not to jostle the bed too much.

Matthew turned to stare thoughtfully down at his brother. The American looked utterly exhausted. He really wasn't surprised about this, Alfred always got tired before he did at night. He was one of those 'early to bed, early to rise' sort of people, whereas Matthew was the night owl of the two. Although today, Alfred was probably extra tired, seeing as how he had been trying keep up appearances like he always did around the other nations. He had undoubtedly worn himself out.

'You're going to make yourself sick again if you keep this act up all month, Alfie…' Matthew silently scolded as he reached over and brushed some of the wheat blonde hair away from his twin's face. It was actually quite hypocritical of him since he also acted differently around the other nations. However the way _he_ acted was much more reserved and less energetic then his hyperactive twin.

Matthew felt a frown form on his face as he stared at his brother. He had been kind of hoping Alfred would still be awake. Matthew hadn't gotten to spend any time with him today. Not alone anyway. Feliciano had kept Alfred quite occupied throughout most of the day, leaving little time for anything else. It left Matthew feeling as if he had been forgotten. He hated that feeling. Especially if he felt like he was being forgotten by Alfred. That always hurt a lot more then being dismissed by the other nations.

Matthew let his eyes travel over to the digital clock on the nightstand behind his brother. Looking past his twin's glasses, the bright blue digits of the device informed him that it was only 9:30.

_'No wonder I'm not tired yet.'_ The teen thought, looking back to his brother. He bit down on his bottom lip subconsciously. It might be selfish of him, but he wanted to spend some time alone with his twin and the opportunity had_ finally_ presented itself. Plus, it was still _so_ early. That was a good enough reason to wake him up, …right?

_'Right.'_ Matthew thought as he smirked lightly down at the peacefully sleeping American. Besides, he felt he deserved some kind of payback for being ignored all day. The Canadian carefully slid closer to his twin. He then reached over and gently shook his shoulder. Alfred mumbled something incoherent before rolling over onto his back. He then resumed his slow breathing. Matthew sat back on his knees with a small pout.

"Why do you have to be such a heavy sleeper…?" Matthew grumbled as he leaned over and gently poked his twin's cheek. This was a usual tactic both of them shared when they wanted to get the other's attention. Still, he received no reaction from his brother.

Not giving up, Matthew eyed Nantucket. There was an unspoken agreement between them when it came to touching the other's ahoge. Matthew bent down with a sly smile. There were _always_ loopholes. After taking in a some air, the teen slowly released his warm breath over the rebellious tuft, just like one would do if they were trying to warm their hands on a cold winter's day. Matthew watched with interest as Alfred's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly and his lips parted to release a soft moan.

Matthew unconsciously swallowed as he felt his cheeks heat up. Hearing his twin make _that_ kind of sound just made the Canadian that much more possessive of him. Matthew's violet eyes were drawn to the American's lips and he began to stare. He wouldn't lie, ever since last month he had been obsessing over that moment. He had been craving to kiss Alfred for _so_ long and it had ended too suddenly. Before his last visit to his brother's house, Matthew had been wondering if he would ever again experience the sensation of Alfred's lips against his. But when it had finally happened, after all these years of waiting, the teen felt as if he had reawakened an old addiction that he had been suppressing for an unimaginably long time. It was intoxicating.

Matthew gave a small frown before covertly eyeing his polar bear companion. Kumajiro was still mesmerized by the TV screen and appeared to be ignoring them completely. Satisfied, Matthew looked back to his brother. He hesitated for a moment before putting one hand on the other side of Alfred to support his weight as he leaned down to face him.

Matthew stared down at his twin as he felt his shyness trying to take over. He pushed his worries aside as best he could. There were _always_ worse ways of waking someone up. Besides… nothing else seemed to be working.

After one last moment of hesitation, Matthew lowered his face to Alfred's. He ghosted his lips over his brother's before gently pressing down. A painful sting of nostalgia came over Matthew as the familiar soft feel of his twin's lips against his own brought back some old memories. It hurt because it reminded him that Alfred no longer shared these memories with him. They had somehow been lost. That realization always left Matthew with a feeling of forlorn. The teen tried to push those thoughts away as he concentrated on moving his lips over Alfred's in a carefully contained manner, since acting impulsively would be unwise. It didn't take long after that for the American to finally stir, his breathing being disrupted ever so slightly. The Canadian took that as his cue and forced himself to pull away, resisting the strong urge to reconnect.

"That's not how they did it… you're doing it all wrong." Alfred mumbled sleepily as he opened his azure eyes to stare up at Matthew. The Canadian quirked an eyebrow as he stared down at his brother questioningly. His twin always had something weird to say when he was woken up from a heavy sleep. Alfred blinked a few times as an obscure memory slowly faded away from him yet again. His eyes then focused on Matthew and a light smile appeared on his face as if finally noticing him. "Oh, hey Mattie." He greeted pleasantly.

Matthew felt a strange sense of disappointment come over him. He was sort of hoping Alfred would have been aware of what he had just done, but it seemed the American was clueless as usual. Matthew pursed his lips into a small pout. Again, he felt as if he was being ignored.

"Uh-hey…" Matthew replied quietly as he sat back on his knees. His face still showing his disappointment. He then turned his head away to look at the nearby wall and sighed dejectedly. "What were you dreaming about?" Matthew asked, though he wasn't really that interested. "Did someone forget to add the chocolate in the smores again?" He smirked, trying to put a little humor in so he didn't sound too depressed. The smirk slowly faded when he didn't receive a response to his sarcastic remark. When Matthew turned back to find out why, he deadpanned. The American was sound asleep _again._

The Canadian's eye twitched with irritation. "That's it, Al. You're going to wake up whether you like it or not. I'll get some ice if I have to." Matthew threatened as he leaned in to glower at his brother. The only response he received was a goofy grin. Alfred had obviously jumped right into the middle of one of his _superhero_ dreams, despite the fact that he had _just_ been awake not 40 seconds ago. Matthew narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He then, without any further consideration, flopped over onto Alfred's stomach, knocking the air out of him.

"Ah.. My breadbasket…!" Alfred wheezed, his eyes snapping open in shock.

"Oh good, you're awake.." Matthew said calmly, still laying across his twin.

"Mattie… you need to lay off… the pancakes…!" Alfred breathed as he pulled his arms out from underneath his brother.

Matthew lifted himself up a little so he could turn and pout at Alfred, his face flushed ever so slightly at the accusation. "Take it back, I don't weight _that_ much and you know it..!" He whisper shouted back defensively.

"Oh yeh..?" Alfred challenged as he lifted his eyebrows at his brother. "Tell that to poor Iowa." Matthew gave the American a small frown as he continued his allegations. "Illinois' not too happy either. Neither is Nebraska." He claimed as he wiggled a little underneath his twin. "I think you totally squashed Minnesot- Ah!" Alfred gasped as his underarms were attacked, effectively ending his rant.

"I'm not heavy!" Matthew snapped as his fingers retaliated with relentless tickling. This was something only their immediate family knew about. Alfred was unreasonably ticklish under his arms. It was also a sure way to shut him up if you could catch him off his guard. Unfortunately, Alfred knew exactly where Matthew's ticklish spot was as well. And turnabout was fair play after all.

Through his flailing and gasping laughter, Alfred seized the opportunity to attack his twin's sides in the exact same fashion he had just been treated to. A gasp instantly hitched in Matthew's throat as he leaned back and out of reach, before sitting down on his twin's lap. Somehow during his own assault, he had found himself straddling Alfred for optimum access to his ticklish area.

After he had finally caught his breath, the American took the time to smirk up at his Canadian brother mischievously. "Is the view better from there or something?" He asked teasingly. His words earned him an almost instant blush, though his brother didn't seem to be in any hurry to move. Alfred noticed a few seconds ago that Matthew had been watching him in silence while he was trying to catch his breath. His twin had had a far away look on his face as if he were daydreaming. This wasn't the first time Alfred had caught him spacing out like this though, so he wasn't that worried. Although his brother always seemed to pick the _weirdest_ times to zone out.

"Don't think this is over, Mattie." Alfred said in mock threat. "You can't just squash someone in their sleep, then try to tickle them to death and get away with it." He warned as he pushed himself up into a sitting position to face his brother.

Matthew frowned slightly, still feeling a bit annoyed, but he didn't make any attempt to move from his spot. "What are you going to do about it, eh?" He asked in a confident tone, though he _was_ feeling a bit awkward in their current position. Perhaps 'awkward' wasn't the right word. Nervous maybe? For a few reasons. Either way, he was glad he was finally getting a reaction from his twin. He had Alfred's attention all to himself now.

Alfred found himself grinning at Matthew's response. It sounded like a challenge and he of course, would gladly accept. Leaning closer, he came within a few inches of his twin's face and gave him a sly smile. "What do you _think_ I'm going to do about it?" He whispered back in reply.

A shiver ran through Matthew's body making him swallow in anticipation when he felt Alfred's hot breath on his lips. He subconsciously began to gravitate forward but before the teen could further sabotage his calm demeanor, he felt his brother's legs move from behind him and he was pushed backwards onto the bed with a little more force then was necessary.

"Al, you jerk!" Matthew hissed as he shot a dirty look up at his twin. Alfred didn't bother to reply to that as he smirked down arrogantly at the Canadian. He then bent over him, while slowly sliding his hands underneath his brother's nightshirt. Despite his grumpy disposition, Matthew felt his cheeks begin to heat up even more as he felt Alfred's warm hands rest on his sensitive midriff. They lingered there momentarily before they began to slide up, towards his chest. Matthew's breathing changed slightly as his back involuntarily arched a fraction of an inch. The Canadian tilted his head back a little as he felt his body begin to betray him. To his horror he caught sight of his familiar furry white companion, still watching the TV, his shoulders hunched over a bit in obvious annoyance. Matthew's eyes widened, realizing he had completely forgotten about Kumajiro. He then quickly snapped his attention back to his brother. The Canadian's body was already initiating a force cool down in embarrassment.

"Al, w-wait. We-" Matthew's urgent plea was interrupted when Alfred's fingers slid to the Canadian's sides and began tickling with a vengeance. Matthew took a sharp intake of breath and tried to roll over and out of reach. He found he was unable to due to the fact that his brother was firmly planted between his legs. They were in an unbearably awkward position, but Matthew couldn't point that out through his fits of laughter.

Kumajiro growled quietly to himself as the bed was jostled again and as his favorite person's laughter drowned out the pretty woman's voice on the TV. Just a short while ago, the small bear had had the same problem when his owner's obnoxious other half had muted the show with his own laughter. Now they were _both_ making way too much noise. One more jostle of the bed and Kumajiro whipped his head around to glare grumpily at them. They were after all being _very_ inconsiderate.

"Stop shaking the bed!" Kumajiro demanded, irritation seeping from his voice. His words bounced off the North American twin's as if they were as intimidating as party balloons. The small polar bear felt a pout coming on as he gripped the TV remote tighter between his paws.

One startled yelp and two heavy thuds later, Kumajiro turned back around to watch his show with a feeling of great accomplishment.

"Oww…" Alfred whined as he pulled himself from the floor. He then reached around and put a hand to the back of his already sore head. "Not cool, Bear Dude…" He grumbled as he felt a dull throbbing pain start once the initial sting was over with.

"Serves you right, Al." Matthew scolded as he pulled himself from the floor as well, while panting heavily. He felt even more grumpy then he did before. Mostly because he was disappointed with himself and embarrassed that he seemed to have so little control of his actions around his brother. Not to mention he felt as if Alfred had been teasing him. That just made him feel even worse.

Alfred watched in silence as Matthew finally caught his breath. The unhappy expression on his twin's face was starting to make him feel bad. He had only wanted to get a reaction from Matthew. He just never expect to get such a _strong_ reaction. Still… the response he received from his brother was encouraging. Perhaps what happened last month wasn't a fluke after all. There was only one way to find out for sure though…

"Mattie." Alfred said softly, getting his twin's attention.

"What is it..?" Matthew replied sullenly as he looked over to the American. Alfred didn't say anything as he reached out and took hold of Matthew's glasses. The Canadian simply sighed and let his eyes look away to the draping comforter beside him, thinking that his brother only wanted to straighten the wire frames on his face, for they were still a bit crooked after his fall from the bed. However, when his glasses were actually removed, Matthew looked back to Alfred with a bit of confusion. To his absolute surprise, Alfred leaned forward and captured his lips in an unexpected kiss. The Canadian sat there in stunned silence as he felt his grumpiness melt away like ice on a summer day. He had been wanting to do this for weeks, but now that it was actually happening, his body had somehow forgotten what to do next. It was only when Alfred hesitated then began to pull away, did Matthew react.

The lack of an instant response from his twin had unnerved Alfred slightly but his growing worries quickly subsided when Matthew finally reciprocated in what felt like an almost desperate fashion. The American felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth as he returned with a newfound confidence. Just like last time, this felt so familiar. So natural. Kissing Matthew ignited a feeling of warm nostalgia deep within him as if there were moments in time that he so desperately needed to remember. Though, no matter how hard he tried, they were always just below the surface.

Matthew felt his back press against the side of the bed as Alfred leaned into him in a more dominating way. The Canadian smirked into the kiss. _'Even without your memories, you're still the same. Eh, Al?' _He mused as he let his fingers slide through his twin's hair. Alfred jerked back slightly and gasped when Nantucket was "accidentally" brushed back with the rest of his wheat blonde locks. Matthew took this opportunity to lean forward and deepen the kiss. To his delight, Alfred didn't object to the intrusion as his tongue met his brother's in a most familiar way. Matthew relished the moment as he let his hands slide to Alfred's chest where he curled his fingers into the soft fabric of his twin's nightshirt.

A shiver ran through the Canadian as his brother placed a warm hand on the side of his neck. It lingered there for a moment before sliding upwards under Matthew's wavy honey blonde hair, leaving a tingling sensation in it's wake. Alfred traced his brother's jawline with his thumb before coming to a stop right below his ear. Matthew hummed softly as he felt his twin's thumb gently rub small circles into the sensitive area.

The light vibrations only seemed to add to the passionate nature of the kiss, making Alfred hum back as if by some kind of strange sympathetic response only they understood. Even as the American's mind slowly took a backseat, he couldn't help but faintly wonder if his body knew more then he did in this moment as he strategically placed a knee between his twin's legs and leaned forward, gently pushing him back against the side of the bed once more.

Without thinking, Alfred lifted his other hand to Matthew's hair. He then carefully twirled a finger into his twin's ever present curl before giving it a gentle tug. To his pleasure, an deep moan escaped his brother as his fists tightened, pulling down on the soft material he was grasping. Before they could take this any further however, a small voice broke through to them, effectively halting their actions.

"Be _quiet_!" Kumajiro snapped out in annoyance. He would have tossed something if he hadn't already used that card. "She's fixing to add the sprinkles!" He grouched as he tried to ignore the odd sounds coming from behind him.

Both teens reluctantly forced themselves to break away, denying their strong magnetic desire to reconnect to the other. Alfred sat back down on the cold hardwood floor and panted heavily as he stared over at Matthew. The Canadian stared back at him as he leaned his weight against the side of the bed, trying to catch his breath as well.

Kumajiro growled lightly, finally deciding to give up on his show. He then turned and padded over to the side of the bed to glower down at his owner after giving his owner's doppelganger an equally aggravated glance. "What were you doing?" He asked, his voice now showing how tired he was. Matthew tilted his head up to greet his polar bear companion with a light blush.

"Nothing.." Matthew and Alfred both replied in unison, while one wore a faint smirk and the other a frown. Kumajiro raised his head to look at the American then gave him a blank stare.

"I'm going to sleep..." The small bear grumbled. He then turned and padded over to the end of the bed again and curled up on the soft comforter, deciding he was done with _both_ of them for the night.

A quiet laugh brought Matthew's attention back to his brother just in time to see him push himself from the floor and back onto his feet. Alfred then bent over and held his hand out while giving his twin a small smile. Matthew mimicked his expression as he accepted the kind gesture.

Once Matthew was back on his feet, Alfred tugged the Canadian to him by his elbow and embraced him in a warm hug. He was unbelievably relieved that his brother hadn't changed his mind since last month. He had been slightly worried that that might have been the case since his twin was so standoffish today, but his concerns had been greatly reduced during the span of only a few minutes. Alfred released a small sigh as he rested his chin on his brother's shoulder and closed his eyes.

Matthew paused for a second before wrapping his arms around his brother as well and breathing in his scent. In spite of the warm fluttering feeling he was still experiencing within himself, he couldn't help but notice the underlying sadness in his twin's actions. Alfred only hugged him this way when there was something bothering him. But what? The Canadian frowned slightly as he buried his face into the side of his brother's neck. Matthew secretly hoped Alfred wasn't regretting anything.

"Hey, Mattie..?" Alfred started, breaking the silence.

Matthew waited a few seconds before lifting his head, knowing he couldn't delay the conversation forever. "Hm..?" He finally replied in a barely audible voice.

"You know that feeling of deja vu?" Alfred asked quietly.

Matthew furrowed his eyebrows slightly as his mind tried to process the odd question. He then pulled away from his brother to give him a confused look. "Yea… What about it..?"

"It's weird.." Alfred replied in an unusually subdued voice. He then paused a few seconds as he looked to the side, collecting his thoughts. Matthew waited patiently for him to continue. The American finally looked back to his brother with an earnest expression firmly set in place. "Have we ever done that before?"

Matthew's heart skipped a beat at those words. _'Did he remember something?' _The teen tried to dismiss those thoughts as fast as he could so as not to get his hopes up unnecessarily. He then gave his brother an awkward nod of the head. "Well yea-"

"I mean _before_ last month." Alfred added hastily, interrupting the other.

Matthew's violet eyes widened in disbelief. _'Maple.. He did remember something!' _The teen mentally exclaimed as he tried to contain his growing excitement. They must have triggered something just now with that kiss, it was the only logical explanation he could think of.

_"Well?"_ Alfred asked impatiently as he waited for his brother to reply.

The Canadian slowly bit down on his bottom lip as he looked to the side contemplating how to answer. _'Should I tell him the truth?' _He chewed on his lip as he quickly tried to reject that idea, remembering vividly the argument that had been caused the last time he tried to bring up the past to his brother. But maybe...

Matthew stopped his nervous habit and looked back to his twin as a determined expression formed on his face._ 'This might be the perfect time to talk to him about it.' _With his mind made up, Matthew gave his brother a small smile and nodded.

"Al, we-"

Before Matthew could continue, heavy footfalls were heard from the hallway as they stampeded towards them. Both teens turned to look at the door before flinching a second later when loud banging erupted from just outside.

A tired sigh escaped Alfred as he released his twin and walked over to the door. Before opening it, he slid the glasses he had recovered from the floor onto his face and composed himself as best he could.

**-(SC)-**

"Is it following us?!" Feliciano asked fearfully as he tightened his grip on his brother's hand.

"How should _I_ know?!" Lovino snapped as he continued to bang on the door before him.

"What's going on..?"

The Italian twins whipped around to face one of the North American brothers as he stared out from the doorway behind them, an unsure expression on his face.

"Matteo!" Feliciano exclaimed as he turned and dragged his brother with him across the hallway. They had obviously been banging at the wrong door.

"What's wrong, Feli?" Alfred asked, not bothering to correct his friend.

"There's a monster downstairs!" The northern Italian explained animatedly with one hand, still refusing to let go of Lovino.

"It wasn't a monster.." Lovino grumbled with a blush clearly on his face.

"It wasn't?" Feliciano asked lifting his eyebrows in surprise. "Then why did you run so fast, Lovi?"

"Shut up! Chigiii~!" Lovino hissed, his face getting redder. "You were scared too!"

Alfred sighed again as he brushed his hand through his wheat blonde hair. "I'll go check it out…"

Both Feliciano and Lovino stepped aside as Alfred walked past them and departed down the hallway. Once he was out of sight, the northern Italian pulled his brother into the safety of the dimly lit bedroom, where a moment later, a lamp on one of the nightstands was turned on and a soft light flooded the room, revealing the other North American twin.

"Alfred~!" Feliciano greeted happily as he and his brother made their way closer to the light. "Can we sleep here for tonight?" Lovino stayed silent as he glared at the taller nation, because even if he _didn't_ like the idea, he wouldn't mind sleeping in a different location himself.

Matthew looked over to the two Europeans and lifted an eyebrow. He then inwardly sighed as he forced his usual smile on his face. "I guess it wouldn't hurt if you two stayed here for the night." He agreed politely as he turned over the covers on the right side of the bed.

Feliciano grinned as he dragged his twin over to the bed and flopped down on the left side, unintentionally disturbing the sleeping polar bear. Lovino glared at his obnoxious other half, before yanking his hand away grumpily as he turned his gaze over to Matthew again.

"Just stay on your side, ya burger bastard. We don't need you crushing us in our sleep." The southern Italian warned as he pulled his brother off the bed so he could tug back the covers.

Matthew felt his eye twitch as he plastered on a passive aggressive smile. _'Why is he so rude?'_ The teen let his annoyance go and gave a small laugh in spite of himself. "Sure thing.." He agreed with a nod.

A few minutes later, Alfred finally reentered the bedroom carrying two fluffy Ragamuffins under each arm. "Mattie, I think Hero ate your chips." He informed as he set the two cats down on the floor and shut the door behind him.

"What?" Matthew replied from where he was sitting on the bed, far over on the right side, away from the two Italians. In response, Hero leapt onto the bed, almost landing on Kumajiro, who was fast asleep again. He was quickly followed by Maple, the lighter of the two, who began to softly purr as he curled up next to his polar bear friend. Hero then sat down next to them and began licking some red powdery stuff off his whiskers. Matthew frowned. "I was saving those.."

"Wait, …you're America?" Lovino asked as he pointed at Alfred in confusion.

Alfred, who had just taken off his brother's borrowed glasses, looked over to Lovino and tilted his head slightly. "Uh huh..?"

"Then that means…" Lovino looked over to Matthew, who simply smiled politely back at him.

"I'm Canada." He stated softly.

The southern Italian felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Ever since he had discovered the two North American brothers were actually twins, they had somehow become even _more_ difficult to tell apart. Now he felt guilty for being so rude to the one that didn't particularly bother him. Lovino slowly grit his teeth in irritation. He then turned and laid down next to his brother, who had already fallen asleep, and pulled the covers over them. "Sorry…" He grumbled quietly in apology.

"Wait.. You guys are sleeping _here_?" Alfred asked as he lifted his eyebrows.

"It's only for tonight, Al." Matthew reassured his twin with a shrug of his shoulders.

Alfred mimicked the gesture then yawned as he walked over to the right side of the bed, where he carefully set Matthew's glasses down on the nightstand. He then lifted his arms over his head and stretched tiredly. Matthew quickly looked away after he caught a glimpse of his twin's bare stomach as his nightshirt was lifted a little. After another long yawn, the American crawled over his brother and laid down in the empty space between him and the Italian twins, accidentally bumping into Lovino.

"Hey, watch what you're doing!" Lovino snapped as he pushed back in retaliation.

"Dude, this bed wasn't made for _4_ people." Alfred replied calmly as he turned on his side to face his brother. "So just chill, K?"

Lovino turned his head to give Alfred a dirty look but stopped when he caught sight of Matthew. The Canadian had given his brother a soft but humored smile that bordered on adoring before he turned the lamp off on the nightstand and laid himself down on the bed as well. The southern Italian decided to drop his complaint as he felt a frown tug at his lips, he then turned his head away and closed his eyes instead.

**~(TS)~**

An hour had past and Lovino still couldn't get to sleep. He slowly sat up and looked down at his brother. Feliciano had turned over onto his side, his arms wrapped around a pillow. Lovino sighed quietly then looked over to the North American twins. He couldn't help but stare as the dim moonlight washed over them. Matthew had his back to his brother's chest, while Alfred had his arms wrapped around his twin's middle, holding him close.

Lovino knew the two were brothers and that they were undoubtedly too old to still be sleeping this way with eachother, but somehow, he couldn't help but think that it looked so natural, unusual as it may be. And somewhere in the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder if it would look just as natural if he were to do this with Feliciano.

Lovino looked back over to his brother doubtfully as he laid back down beside him. After a few minutes of mental conflict, Lovino finally turned over onto his side and faced his twin's back. _'Well… He is a heavy sleeper after all…' _He reasoned with himself as he hesitantly reached over. He then carefully pulled Feliciano over and wrapped his arms around him, just like he had seen how Alfred had done with his own brother.

Lovino felt a warm flutter within his chest as he breathed in his brother's scent. This felt _so_ right, _so_ perfect, that he instantly regretted doing it. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to pull away. He was too comfortable now as he felt his eyelids finally start to get heavy. He hadn't realized till now, just how tired he actually was.

_'Just 5 more minutes…'_ He bargained with himself as he slowly fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

x**X**x** xXx **x**X**x

**~(WMD)~**

**I just had to add some ItaAmore in there~**

**The next chapter is going to be some colonial AmeCan (Flashback/Dream) For the good of the story! **

**WMD's uber fun facts!**

**Ketchup flavored potato chips - Supposedly popular in Canada. (I can't find any, where I live in the US!) That makes me :( **

**The "Breadbasket" in a human is their stomach region, more importantly, their Solar Plexis. If someone is struck there, they get the wind knocked out of them. However, countries also have "Breadbaskets", which signifies fertile farmland, and America's is coincidentally located in the middle of the country, therefore giving me the ****_perfect_**** opportunity to exploit the similarities. lol :P**

Feel free to leave a review and have a happy New Year. :)


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